Home Of The Brave
by DarylDixon'sLover
Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film.
1. World Gone To Hell

**AUTHORS NOTE: I am deeply excited to be back and to write again but understand the reluctunce of the community to trust me. More details can be found on my profile but I hope they can accept my deepest apologies and that I can turn my writing and reputation around but becoming productive.**

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 1

* * *

Eve Greene was working at the local bar in her hometown of Cherokee Falls; the town had been hit hard by the recession with the result of her losing her three year job at the once very popular dance studio called 'Cherry Dance.'

Only it seemed the recession had hit it as well, Daryl had held her while she had sobbed, she hated not having a steady job, and he knew the feeling as his job at the local garage was feeling tight from lack of customers.

Instead of hearing about the latest budget cuts, they were all hearing about a mysterious virus that had so far claimed eleven people.

"Fucking perfect." She said annoyed as she tied up her light blonde curls into a ponytail and served her best friend Daryl Dixon another beer.

"What's got ya pissed off?" He asked looking at her with his piercing blue eyes.

Just life in general," she said sighing, as she started to wipe down the surface of the bar. "Look at me, stuck here on a Saturday night, with a bunch of drunk touch feely old men, I should be out... or something."

"Well I'm here aren't I?" He asked and she smiled at him gently, they had been best friends since they were teenagers with Daryl being two years older than her and she had been seventeen at the time.

"Yeah you are, I'm sorry for being bitchy." She said as they saw Merle, Rowan and her asshole husband Trevor storm in with their daughter Rose.

"We gotta go!"

"What do you mean we have to go?" Eve asked as she finished cleaning the bar and put some glasses into the dishwasher. "I'm working. Daryl, you go on ahead if you need to. I don't finish my shift for another two hours."

"Evie ain't ya been watchin' the damn news?" Merle asked her and she frowned as she heard screaming and they all looked to see one of the customers had a large scratch on his shoulder with the man behind him looking very dead.

"EVERYONE OUTSIDE!" Daryl yelled as he grabbed her hand as she grabbed her leather jacket and bag as they ran out.

"What on earth was that?" Rowan asked as she held Rose's hand tightly and they stood outside with the others, around the back of the bar where it was quiet.

"Ain't got no idea," Merle muttered as he watched a man bite down on another man's shoulder. "Shit, but I know we gotta get outta here."

They all nodded and Eva got into Daryl's truck with Merle riding the bike while Rowan, Rose and Travis drove their black SUV to their houses which were on the same street.

Daryl pulled up and Eve ran inside the house that she had grown up in and looked around for her parents when she found her dad eating her mom's face.

"Daddy?" She asked horrified.

Travis stormed into the house behind her and fired a bullet through both her mother and fathers heads. "Don't you listen to the news? Says the only thing that'll kill 'em is a blow to the head," he muttered, as he started to look through Eva's cupboard for supplies.

"Those things are everywhere," Rowan said alarmed. "They're all over the streets, the whole town."

"Where the hell do we go?" Eva asked as she packed all of her things and grabbed all of the food that they could take as Daryl hurried in from the room where her dad kept the guns.

"We can go to my grandfather's hunting lodge, its up near the mountains and seclude." He explained as he helped Eva pack up and they all hurried out with Eva's dog, Midnight getting into the back, Daryl knew Eva would kill him if they left the dog so let him in.

"Ya alright?" He asked her softly.

Eve frowned as she looked blankly out the window, trying to forget the image of her dad eating her mother's face off. It was something that never could be unseen that was for sure. "I uh... I guess," she said, chewing on her lip as she saw Merle turn off down a dirt road in front of them towards the cabin, with Travis, Rowan and Rose following behind him.

They all reached the lodge and cautiously got out, Eva was grateful for the fact that Daryl had taught her how to hunt, defend herself and use a gun.

"It's clear." Merle called out and they all nodded as they headed inside with Eva letting out Midnight who stayed by her side as she sheathed in her machete.

"Let's put on the news and see what's going on." She said turning the TV on.

She turned on the TV and nothing but static came on, with a message that _read 'Please stay tuned, normal viewing will resume shortly,_' "Fat lotta good that is," Travis mumbled, making himself at home as he got a beer out of the fridge much to Merle's annoyance.

Rowan sat with a sleeping Rose in her lap. "News said something before about some virus. The people were dead, but coming back? They didn't know what it was, and the only thing that would stop them would be a shot to the head. Bites or scratches pass on this infection."

"I'm sure it'll pass," Travis said flatly as he sat down and put his feet up on the table.

"I'm gonna go out for a hunt, get us all something to eat for tonight and we'll figure out what to do in the morning." Daryl said as he went to where Eva was stacking up the shelves.

"Be safe and look out for those walkers." Eva said kissing him and he kissed her right back before touching her cheek and heading out.

"I'm going to try and phone, Hershel." She told Merle and Rowan.

They both nodded and sat down in the sitting room. "You don't mind us staying here, do you?" Rowan asked Merle quietly as she stroked Rose's hair.

Merle shook his head. "Nah, the three of ya can take my room, I'll sleep on the sofa," he told them.

"That's very kind of you, thank you." She said moved as they saw Daryl come in, he was covered in dirt and blood.

"Those things are fuckin' everywhere; they just try and eat ya." He said wiping the blood off his face as a worried Eva came back.

"I managed to phone him but it was only for a minute, Aunt Annette is sick and so is Shawn." She said worriedly as Midnight whined.

She sat down and stroked her dog softly, trying to calm him down. "Do you think it's with the infection?" Rowan asked quietly.

"What else?" Travis mumbled. "Ain't just a fuckin' coincidence."

"Well we can't do anything until the morning." Eva said as the TV switched on.

_"This hour the news is grim, we have confirmed reports that Washington and Los Angeles have fallen to the dead. Repeat, Washington, New Orleans and Los Angeles have fallen. If you see the dead run, do NOT try to help them. The only thing that will stop them is a shot to the head. Hospitals are filling up with people that the virus is taking; so far there is no cure for the virus. If you are bitten you will die. Refugee centres are being set up in all major cities, backed up by the National Guard. We have reports from all over the world that the dead are raising. Stay inside and wait for further instructions."  
_  
Eve had her hand over her mouth, Merle looked sick, Rose was sobbing into Rowan's shirt clinging to her, and Rowan ran her hand up and down daughter's back trying to calm her. The bathroom door opened and all three of them jumped. Daryl looked at them, "What's going on?"

Eve went to Daryl wrapping her arms around his waist and crying into his shirt, "They're everywhere."

"Well, ain't nothin' we can do about it," Daryl said tiredly. "Forest is swarmin' with those things and it's too dark to try and make our way through 'em to somewhere safe."

Merle nodded. "Ain't nothin' to be worried about in here, enough weapons to take out an army," he said as he looked around.

Travis glared at Rose. "Stop your cryin', all that noise is gonna attract something."

"Shut the hell up, she's scared." Rowan said stroking Rose's soft dark brown gently and Travis glared but shut up as everyone headed up to bed.

* * *

Eva got changed for bed and pulled on a pair of black shorts and a tank top as Daryl came in shirtless.

"C'mere." He said softly and pulled her into him.

She hugged him gently and smiled faintly as she went over to the window and sat down on the window seat, looking out over the moonlit forest, with Midnight going to sit at her feet. "What if we're the only ones left? What the hell are we supposed to do lock up here for the rest of our lives?" she asked quietly as she scratched behind Midnight's ears. "We should go look for one of those refugee places in the morning."

"Yeah, this place ain't safe enough." He said pulling her into him as they sat on the bed and Midnight got on top of the quilt.

"I hope Uncle Hershel, Aunt Annette, Maggie, Shawn and Beth are ok, I managed to talk to Beth for a minute but the line cut off." She said curling into him.

"Remember that promise I made when we were at the cabins?" He asked softly as he stroked her light blonde wavy hair.

"What was that?" she asked, lying back on the bed and watching the stars out the window.

"That I'd always protect ya, care for ya and look out for ya." He said kissing her gently and she kissed him back as they laced hands.

"I promised that too." She said softly.

She gave him a small smile before something caught her attention out the window. There was a light, far away that looked like another star, but if you looked closer you could see the flashing red light. "Look... that's a plane," she said quickly, glad there were other people out there somewhere. "That means there must be other people alive somewhere too."

"That's good." Daryl said relived as they heard a loud explosion on the highway that made the lodge shake as they both quickly got dressed and hurried downstairs where the others were as they all hurried outside to see Atlanta ablaze.

"What the hell?" She asked shocked.

"They're bombing the city, mommy I'm scared." Rose sobbed.

"I'm here, sweetheart, I'm here," Rowan said as she picked her up and held her tightly, as they walked further down the highway, noticing other people in the distance. "They don't seem to be infected," Rowan said happily as she pointed straight ahead of her. "Let's go and see if they know what's going on," she said, and Travis shook his head as he followed after her.

"C'mon lili brother." Merle said and they all packed their things including Rowan's and her family's as they all drove up to the highway.

"Oh my god they're napalming the city." Eva said shocked as they watched Atlanta being bombed and saw other people there.

Including Aunt Carol and Sophia.

She slowly walked over to them and gave them a small smile. "Hey Carol, Sophia, Ed. What's going on here?" she asked, looking at the city and the people around them.

"The army are napalming Atlanta, I think they were overrun." Carol explained as they heard screaming and saw up ahead that walkers had appeared.

"Follow us to the quarry." Daryl told Carol and she nodded as Daryl and Eva hurried into the truck and they all followed Merle.

They pulled up at a quarry outside Atlanta some time later and found a flat area of land where they parked up all their cars. After looking around, it seemed they had been followed by others too. Rowan looked around and could see a large man with thick curly black hair, he seemed to be wearing a sheriff's outfit, and was holding a gun tightly. Beside him was a woman with long dark hair, and a scared looking little boy, she guessed that was his family. She saw a small Asian guy, along with a larger black man and woman, parking up next to a man in a mechanics van. There were a Hispanic family, a man and a woman with two children, and finally, an RV pulled into the quarry, with an older man and two blonde girls stepping out.

"I'm Shane Walsh, a sheriff's deputy; this is my friend Lori Grimes and her son Carl." Shane said introducing themselves.

"I'm Andrea Grey and this is my younger sister, Amy." Andrea introduced herself and they all smiled at her warmly.

"I'm Eve Greene and this is my Aunt Carol and her daughter, Sophia." Eva introduced her family and Daryl took her hand gently.

"Daryl Dixon and this is my brother, Merle." He said nodding at everyone.

"I'm Dale Hovarth." The older man said warmly.

Travis eyed them all carefully. "Name's Travis Michaels, this is my wife Rowan and our daughter Rose," he said, and the others seemed to notice how Rowan moved away slightly, holding onto Rose's hand.

"I'm Morales," the Hispanic man said as he stepped forward. "This is my wife, Miranda, and our kids, Eliza and Louis."

"And I'm Glenn Rhee," the Asian boy said. "These are some people I found on my way out of Atlanta. This is Jim, Jacqui and Theodore."

"Call me T-Dog though," the black man corrected.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Eve said warmly and they all nodded at her as they all discussed who should go on watch and who knew how to shoot.

"Does everyone know how to shoot?" Shane asked all of them and they all nodded in yes that they did know how to shoot.

"Me, Daryl, Eve know how to shoot." Merle said quietly and Shane nodded as he looked at Travis, Rowan and Rose.

"What about you two?"

Rowan looked up nervously, hoping they wouldn't kick her out because she didn't know how to use a gun. "I've never done much shooting before," she said quietly, as she held Rose's hand tighter. "But I'm willing to learn to help protect the camp and all," she added quickly.

"I can shoot, don't worry about her," Travis said flatly.

Shane frowned at him but gave Rowan a soft smile and she hesitantly returned it as they all unpacked their tents and started to get ready for bed.

"I managed to call Hershel before the lines went down, Shawn was really ill." Carol told Eve quietly as they prepared dinner.

Eve nodded. "Yeah, I know, I spoke to Beth for about two seconds," she said quietly as she opened a tin of rice to boil on the fire they had set up. "Beth sounded alright though, said it was just Shawn and Annette who had been showing symptoms."

"Need any help ladies?" Rowan asked quietly as she watched Rose go and talk to the other children and sat down in front of the fire.

"You could help us chop up some of those carrots." Carol told her and she nodded as they all saw Lori walking towards them.

"Where are you three from?" She asked quietly as she looked at all of them wearily and they all sighed.

"Cherokee Falls, it's a town in southern Georgia." Eve told her and she nodded in understanding.

"What about you?" Eve asked.

"Kings County," Lori answered as she sat down with them. "My husband was the Sheriff there, he got shot a month ago, before all this happened. Was in hospital in a coma. I didn't have time to go and see him after things started happening, so Shane went to try and pick him up... he was dead when Shane got there," she said quietly.

Eve gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry."

Lori nodded. "It's alright, Carl was pretty torn up about it though, and he loved his father very much."

"We've all lost people, my parents were walkers and Travis killed them, asshole." Eve said angry at him as they finished cooking dinner and shared it out between everyone as they all happily enjoyed the food.

"So why did the army bomb Atlanta?" Sophia asked Carl quietly.

"Maybe they got overrun with walkers." He offered and they all sighed heavily as they faced the possibility that their friends and families were gone.

"I think we're about all that's left of Atlanta," Travis said as he picked at the food on his plate. "Least we won't have so many assholes to deal with from now on, that's for sure."

"Watch your mouth in front of the children," Shane said firmly to him,

"Whatever man." Travis said annoyed and Eve sighed as everyone finished eating and they all headed into their tents.

* * *

Eve got changed into a pair of black shorts and a black tank top as Daryl came in and sat down beside her.

"I can't believe this is happening." She said leaning against his chest.

"Yeah, well, ain't everyday the dead come back to life, is it?" Daryl picked up his crossbow and made sure he had enough arrows nearby incase they ran into any trouble during the night, he would have it close if he needed it. "Let's just hope this group ain't a bunch of assholes," he muttered, as they both got into their sleeping bags.

"Goodnight Daryl." She said softly as she felt him move up to her and pulled her into him, they were best friends but also friends with benefits and she always felt more for him than just friendship.

She didn't want to ruin it though and simply curled into him and Midnight.

"Night, Eve," he replied as he turned out the lamp and fell asleep, hoping the camp would still be safe to wake up to in the morning.

* * *

Eve woke up first this morning and got dressed quickly and pulled on her battered black biker boots as she headed out of the tent and saw that Daryl had most likely gone on a hunt.

She smiled softly at that and walked out of the tent with Midnight following her as she helped Amy, Carol and Lori cook breakfast as she saw Merle on watch.

"I missed my bed last night," Carol said with a small chuckle as she rubbed the bottom of her back, stiff after spending a night asleep on the ground, as she made some eggs for the people in camp to eat. "I don't think I'm going to get used to this for a while."

Amy chuckled at that. "At least we got something comfier, the RV beds aren't too bad," she said with a half smile as she looked over at where the RV was parked. She was lucky she and her sister had found Dale in the first place, otherwise they would have probably been dead by now. Well, dead and alive again anyway. "Thankfully he found us on the side of the road."

"What were you doing?" Lori asked, setting out some plates.

"We broke down, and Andrea and I didn't know anything about cars. We were trying to get to Atlanta, good job we broke down, I guess," Amy explained. "Dale found us and tried to fix the car, he said it was non repairable. So he was going to give us a lift to Atlanta to contact a garage, but on the way, all... this... Happened," she said, gesturing around her.

"I was working at the bar when this happened and Daryl got me out of there, we hid out in his uncle's hunting lodge when we saw the army bombing the city." Eve said as she placed beans and chicken on the plates.

"Are you and Daryl a couple?" Lori asked looking at her intently.

"Sort of, we're best friends with a benefit type, we care about each other." She said knowing how Daryl felt about feelings.

She loved him though, very much.


	2. Nothing Will Be The Same

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 2

* * *

"That's the best type," Jacqui said smirking as she and Rowan came to join them, after hanging out the laundry they had managed to do down by the lake. "Getting the benefits without the complication of feelings or a relationship," she said with a small chuckle.

Amy looked at Rowan. "How long have you been married for?"

Rowan fought the urge to roll her eyes; she would have rather been married to a dog. "Too long," she said with a slight laugh.

Carol nodded. "I know that feeling very well."

They all laughed at that as they took the plates where they had their meals, they had managed to find chairs and sofas to sit on as they deposited the food.

Daryl came back then with a five squirrels on a string, his face tanned by the sun constantly and he gave Eve a smile which she returned.

"Caught these, should last us a while." He said as she took them so she could skin them and prepare some for dinner and lunch as she got some containers.

"What do you think of these people, Dare?" She asked, calling him the nick name she'd used since they were kids.

Daryl shrugged as he looked around the camp; no one had struck him as particularly exciting yet. "Don't know, ain't really known 'em long enough to make a decision," he said as he took out his arrows from his catches and started to clean the blood off them. "Unless one of 'em causes me a problem, then I'll try and avoid 'em as much as I can."

She chuckled at that and he gave her a soft smile, Eve was the only one who he let his guard down around and he cared about her deeply.

"Or if they hurt ya." He added quietly and she smiled softly at that as she cleaned off her machete, it had belonged to her father.

"You don't need to worry about me," she assured him, patting his arm gently. "You know I can kick ass. Could kick yours if I tried," she said smirking.

"Oh yeah like that time when that boyfriend of yers got too heave handed?" He asked smirking and she chuckled.

"He was bit too eager to get me naked." She said with a twinkle in her blue eyes and he smiled at her softly as they continued to talk.

"Ya think Hershel's alright?"

"Carol spoke to him on the phone before the lines went down, and he was alright then," she said quietly, thinking of her Aunt and Uncle and cousins on the farm. "And I talked to Beth; it was only Annette and Shawn who were ill."

"Ya think they got the infection?" Daryl asked, guessing more than likely the answer was yes, otherwise it was a strange coincidence they were ill at the same time.

"I guess so," she nodded as she took her packet of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up. "Guess that means they're one of those things now then."

"I'm sorry Evie." Daryl said rubbing her hand gently as they both watched Shane and Lori head off to the woods and Daryl snorted.

"They're fuckin' each other and her husband ain't even cold in the ground yet." He said outraged and Eve agreed with him.

"That's not right, her son needs her and he's just lost his dad." She said angry.

"Whore." Merle said as he joined them.

"How's Rowan?" Eve asked him, knowing she had problems with her husband. "Travis isn't starting any shit, is he?"

"No but I caught him with some of his drugs, he's taking crystal meth." He said annoyed and they all sighed heavily.

"Hell he ain't gettin' us kicked out cause of his drug habit." Daryl said annoyed.

"Yeah well, ain't always that easy to kick it," Merle said quietly, he'd had quite the struggle with drugs in the past too. Thankfully he had been clean for the last couple of years, and wasn't tempted to go back.

Eve noticed Amy, Andrea, Carol and Jacqui head down to the lake. "Gonna go and do some laundry I guess."

"Yeah, I heard stick bitch moaning about how ya aren't pulling yer weight around." Merle warned her and she looked shocked before gathering Merle, Daryl's and her dirty laundry before heading down to the lake to wash the clothes, she sure as hell wasn't lazy.

Daryl and Merle watched her go before he looked at Daryl.

"When are ya gonna tell her ya love her?"

"Fuck off Merle," Daryl mumbled as he picked up his arrows. "Or shut the hell up and help me with these damn squirrels," he said, tossing the rope of squirrels at his brother.

* * *

"It's nice down here," Amy said smiling as they sat at the edge of the water so they could do the washing up. "The water looks nice, I wonder if there's any fish?"

"You fish?" Jacqui asked as she started to try and scrub a stain out of a t-shirt.

Amy nodded. "My dad taught me and Andrea, we could try it out one day, see if we could find anything for dinner."

"That would be nice." Eve said as she washed a shirt that belonged to Daryl, it had a grass stain on it and she was trying to get it out.

"Do you think there are others out there?" Andrea asked Eve as they washed some clothes with the soap they had found in one of the cars.

"I'm not sure, maybe." She asked thinking of her Hershel, Beth, Maggie, Patricia and Otis.

"Well its nice seeing you doing work." Lori told Eve.

Eve looked up at her and bit her tongue so she didn't make a remark.

Carol gave a small sigh as she looked at the piece of clothing she had just washed. There was a large red mark down the front of the once white shirt. Most likely walker blood, but hard to tell. She shook her head as she put it in the pile for supposedly 'clean clothes'. "I do miss my Maytag."

Andrea looked thoughtful as her mind seemed to drift from the laundry, back to the days before they had to worry about walkers and death. "I miss my Benz, my sat nav," she said, thinking of the car which was probably still abandoned on the side of the road somewhere.

"My computer, texting." Amy said as she washed a pair of Lori's jeans while Lori walked off and left them to work.

"I miss my coffee maker and camera." Eve said as she cleaned a t-shirt of hers and they all laughed at that as they all finished washing up and headed back up to the camp and were hanging up the washing when they heard the radio crackle.

"Hello?" The reception on the radio was bad and his words could only just be made out. Dale rushed across to where the radio was and picked it up, urgently fiddling with the dials to try and get something to come out clearer.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? This is Sheriff Rick Grimes. I'm stuck in Atlanta, I need to find a safe zone," he said quietly, his voice breaking up every now and then. "If anyone is out there, please let me know of somewhere that's safe."

Daryl looked at Eve then along with Merle and Rowan, Rick was Lori's husband who was supposedly dead and Carl's father.

"Holy shit, looks like someone's been lyin'." Merle said nodding at Shane who was talking to Lori and Carl as everyone did their thing.

"We need to do a supply run." Glenn said and Shane nodded.

"Not to mention we need to rescue this man," Dale said quietly as he looked at the radio. "We can't just leave him there. He said something about being stuck in some sort of army tank or something."

"I'll go," Merle volunteered. "Ain't scared of a few dead assholes."

"I'll come with you," Glenn offered. "I used to be a pizza boy, so I know my way around the city pretty well. Know how to get from place to place easily enough too."

"I'll go too, I know my way around as well." Eve offered and Glenn nodded as Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui and Travis went with them.

"Ya be careful alright, don't let Travis hurt ya." Daryl told her and she smiled as she kissed him gently and he touched her cheek.

"I will don't worry; keep an eye on Aunt Carol, Sophia, Rowan and Rose?" She asked and he nodded and hugged her tightly.

"Take the white van," Shane told them as he pointed to a van that was sitting in the area that had became the parking lot for their cars. Everyone nodded and picked up their weapons as they said goodbye to everyone and headed towards the van.

"I'll drive," Merle said as he got in the front. The others nodded and got in the back, as they drove off towards the city.

* * *

They drove into the city that was jammed with cars that had tried to escape the walkers and Eve saw doors wide open and winced when she saw a man's mangled body in one of the cars as they drove up to a department store.

"God this is disgusting." Jacqui said horrified.

Glenn nodded. "I'm going to go find that Rick guy," he said as he got out of the van and put his backpack on. "Dale said something about an army tank; I know where that is, I remember seeing it when I was trying to get out of the city. I'll go by rooftop so I don't get caught. I'll meet you guys inside the department store in a bit," he said, before he hurried off, and the others all went in search of supplies.

Eve started to pack everything she could including a box of condoms for her and Daryl, the last thing they needed was a baby in this new world.

She went to get the food with Merle while Jacqui and Morales headed off to find medical supplies and they started to load up the food as they heard footsteps and looked around to see Glenn with a man in a sheriff's uniform.

"I'm guessing he found the cop." Merle said amused as they saw walkers swarming at the windows and Andrea put her gun at Rick's head.

"You stupid son of a bitch!"

"Come on, ease up," Eve said quietly, placing a hand on Andrea's arm. Andrea quickly shrugged it off and continued to glare at the man, whom she was guessing was Rick, who had now raised his hands and looked completely confused.

"Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole," Andrea muttered as she pointed behind her at the window. There were a hundred, probably more, walkers gathered at the door trying to get in, "We're dead… all of us… because of you." she said defeated before putting her gun away.

"I don't understand," the man finally spoke up, maybe feeling easier after he no longer had a gun pointing at him.

"You and Chinaman here have just attracted half of the undead city to us," Merle pointed out.

"Welcome to Atlanta, city of the dead." Eve said sighing heavily as she checked the ammo in her gun and placed her machete in her holster as they heard gunshots being fired from the roof.

"Oh no, was that Travis?" She asked as they all ran upstairs to see Travis shooting his rifle at the walkers that had swarmed around the building.

"What the hell are ya doin'?" Merle yelled as they ran over to him.

"Shooting these fuckers, that's what!" Travis yelled he looked completely stoned.

"Are you stupid?" Andrea spat at him, the sun was blazing down on them and it was uncomfortably warm on the roof. She wiped her sweaty forehead. "You're only attracting more of them, you idiot."

Glenn nodded. "It's the noise that does it. You should stop firing."

"I don't need to listen to a chink like you and that blonde bitch." Travis snapped at them as T-Dog tried to stop him only to get beaten up.

Merle ran over and tried to help T-Dog only to get clocked in the face and stumbled back slightly as Eve ran to help.

"Get the hell off him, you piece of shit," she snapped at Travis as she kicked him in the knee, knocking him backwards slightly. "Is that all you ever do? Push people around? You seem to be pretty good at doing it with Rowan."

"We need to go!" they heard Jacqui cry urgently. "They've smashed the front glass; we need to go out the back way before they make their way up the staircase!"

"Alright let's go!" Rick said and they all ran to the basement but Travis handcuffed Eve and Merle to the pipe.

"Payback's a bitch!" He spat and ran off as they both watched in shock.

"Well fuck..." Eve said in disbelief as she watched them all leave and headed down the stairs. She briefly noticed T-Dog give them a sad look and barricaded the door shut. "What did we do to deserve that?"

"Never mind that," Merle said pissed off. "What the fuck do we do now?"

"Don't know, but Christ it's hot," she said as she tried to blow cool air on her face. "Well, look at it this way, we might get a decent tan," she said, trying to make light of the situation as she leaned back against the pipe.

"Fuck, I hope Daryl comes and gets us outta of here." Merle said as he tried to keep cool and Eve gave him a bottle of water which he took with thanks.

"Why ain't ya told him, ya love him?" He asked her quietly as the sun thankfully went down and it was now getting dark.

"Because I don't want to ruin things, I love him and I know he loves me but can't say it." She said with a sigh.

"Ya know all about Daryl," Merle pointed out. "How people just leave him. That's probably why he ain't done anything about it."

"Doesn't matter, things are fine the way they are," she said as she tried to get comfortable somewhere. "God, I think I have sunburn."

"Yer ain't the only one, my fuckin' head hurts." Merle said trying to keep cool as they watched it get dark and he sighed.

"Daryl and yer aunt are gonna be pissed when they find out." He said sighing.

* * *

"This is the camp?" Rick asked as they pulled up at a quarry and he looked around.

Glenn nodded, "This is it," he said as he parked up and they all got out. Amy ran to Andrea and embraced her tightly, as Morales ran to his family happily. Jacqui and T-Dog went to greet the others, as the others watched and waited. Travis got out and stalked over to Rowan and Rose, before Rick finally sighed tiredly and stepped out of the van.

Shane and Lori both went pale and looked at each other, before Carl broke out of his mother's arms and ran to Rick with his arms wide outstretched. "DAD!"

"Hey Carl, oh god I've missed you." He said hugging his son tightly as everyone watched with warm smiles aside from Lori and Shane.

Carol looked around for Merle and Eve but couldn't find them anywhere and felt her face turn pale as she looked at T-Dog.

"Where's Merle and Eve?" She asked worriedly and Andrea swallowed slightly.

"We need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Carol asked panicked as she sat down with Sophia, Ed was off a walk somewhere. "What happened to them? Are they dead?!" she panicked.

"Not exactly... well, I don't know." Morales admitted quietly as he looked at the rest of the group, unsure how to explain what had happened. Technically, none of them had helped, and really, left them for dead. "Travis and them got into a fight. We had to go, there were walkers about to swarm the building. We didn't see Travis chain them to a pipe until it was too late. The last we seen them was on the rooftop."

"I shut the door to try and stop walkers getting in," T-Dog said ashamed. "I didn't have time to go back for them, I'm so sorry."

"You mean to tell me that you all left my niece and her boyfriend's brother on the roof, is that it?" She asked furiously.

"It wasn't like that, we didn't want to." Andrea tried to justify her actions but no one believed her and all looked at Rick who walked.

"Daryl's gonna be pissed." Rowan said worried.

"I'm going back for them in the morning." Rick told Carol.

"You can't do that!" Lori said quietly. "For God's sake, Rick! We just got you back; you can't go and risk your life for those two! Carl's heart is going to be broken if you go off and leave us again like that."

"I can't leave them there," Rick said firmly. "The heat on that rooftop was unbelievable, not to mention there were walkers all over the building. Let's go get some rest for the night and we'll talk about what's happening in the morning."

"Eve is my niece and Merle and Daryl are like family to me and Sophia, I'm sorry Lori but it's not all about you." Carol said and she went into her tent with Sophia as everyone watched in shock when Ed spoke.

"You heard my wife; you're not the leader here." He told Lori who was bright red and left.

"You better get Daryl to go with you." Morales told Rick.

"Merle's brother? Daryl Dixon?" Rick asked, looking around the camp to see if he could see this Daryl man they were talking about.

Dale nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. He's off out on a hunt right now."

"He's Eve's boyfriend and he really cares about her, he's not going to be happy knowing that you all just left her and Merle to rot." Amy added as they all went to bed.

* * *

Everyone was awake and in the main quarry the next morning, it was quiet, as they all ate breakfast, and went off to do their chores with Carol and Rowan hanging out the washing on a line, while Jim hung up some cans around the outside of the quarry, making sure they would be able to hear if any walkers stumbled into their living area. Rowan sighed as she looked at Carol. "I'm so sorry about Merle and Eve and what Travis did. I haven't spoke to him since last night, he went on watch and didn't come back to the tent," she explained.

Before Carol could answer, they heard the children scream from where they were playing beside the forest. All of them grabbed their weapons and ran over as fast as they could to where the commotion was coming from.

They ran to see the kids screaming as they all saw a walker feasting on a deer's body, Andrea and Amy gasped when they saw it and everyone froze.

Shane started to hit it along with Rick, Glenn and Dale as they all beat the walker who crumpled to the floor when Dale cut its head off.

"That's the first we've had up here; they've never come up here." He said shocked.

"Probably run out of food in the city, that's why." Jim said looking at the city.

Rick heard another rustle in the bushes and frowned as he pointed his gun, ready to take another walker down. He seen a man step out with a crossbow and was immediately more alert, until he heard the others let out sighs of relief. Guessing the man wasn't a threat, he put his gun down.

"Son of a bitch! That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this… filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" the man spat as he kicked at the walkers head.

"Calm down, Daryl, that's not helping," Dale said quietly, and Rick frowned. So this was Daryl.

Daryl glared at him and rolled his eyes when they all heard a loud crunching sound and saw that the walker's eyes snapped open as it looked at all of them.

"Oh god." Amy said and she hurried off with Andrea right behind her as everyone watched the walker's head move around.

"Don't ya people know anything, its gotta be the head." Daryl said annoyed and he shot the walker.

"Listen Daryl, we need to talk." Rick said as they followed the man into camp.

"Eve, Merle!"

They all hurried behind him and paused when Daryl had stopped, wondering why the entire camp was looking at him. "Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," Shane said as he stopped a few feet away. He thought about his words carefully as he noticed Daryl's small snarl. "About Eve and Merle. There was a…" he wasn't sure how he could put it, without earning a punch in the face. "There was a problem in Atlanta."

Daryl froze in place as he looked down at the ground, and kicked at the dirt with his boot. "They dead?" he asked quietly, looking up at Shane again.

"No, they're alive but we had to leave them behind because of Travis shooting at the walkers and it lured a herd to the store." Rick explained and Daryl felt rage run through him.

"He hand cuffed them to the roof, we didn't know and... "Andrea trailed off as everyone looked down and Daryl snarled.

"YA LEFT MY BROTHER AND WOMAN ON THE DAMN ROOF WHILE YA'LL RAN OFF LIKE FUCKIN' COWARDS!"

Carol watched him carefully, and for the first time in the few years she had known Daryl, she could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye. But before she had a chance to look any closer. Daryl took the squirrels on the rope he had around him and threw them at Travis. Shane rushed over to intervene and wrapped his arm around Daryl's neck, yanking him to the group. "Chokehold's illegal," Daryl spat at him.

"Yeah, well, you can file a complaint," Shane muttered, only loosening his grip slightly. "Come on man, I could keep this up all day."

Rick walked over and crouched down in front of him. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?"

"Think I could." He said and Rick nodded at Shane who let go of him and Daryl jumped to his feet as he tossed the squirrels at Lori and it hit her on the mouth.

"To hell with ya'll, I'm goin' to get them with or without yer." He said and stalked off to his tent to get ready as everyone watched.

"I'll go." Glenn said quickly.

"I'll go to." T-Dog added.

Daryl came back out with his crossbow over his shoulder. "Just tell me where they are so I can go and get 'em," he snarled.

Lori looked at Rick, before looking over to Daryl, and giving an exasperated sigh. "He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Rick nodded his head, and confirmed he was going back into the city, as Lori shook her head and entered the RV, a scared looking Carl following behind her.

"Well let's get fuckin' movin' then, what're y'all waitin' for?" Daryl snapped at them.

They all nodded and quickly took the van where they got in and drove off as everyone watched on and Carol hoped dearly for Daryl's sake that Eve and Merle were alright.


	3. Are We Safe Here

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 3

* * *

"They better be ok, that's my only word on the matter." Daryl said as he cleaned up his crossbow in front of T-Dog and Rick.

"I made sure the doors were securely shut," T-Dog said quietly as he averted his eyes away from Daryl, the man scared him to tell the truth. "The walkers shouldn't have been able to get in."

"Y'all better hope so," Daryl growled as he wiped at his dirty face with his rag.

They soon pulled up at the fence and they all got out as they decided where to go.

"We're goin' to get Eve and Merle first and ya'll can get that bag of guns." Daryl said as they hurried into the department store only to find a lone walker.

Daryl sneaked up on it and stared at it for a moment before speaking.

"Damn, that is one ugly skank." He said as he fired an arrow at it.

"How do we get to the roof?" he asked quickly as he looked around.

"The stairs," Glenn said as he showed them the way. The four men rushed up the stairs to the roof of the building, Rick passing the bolt cutters they had borrowed from Dale to Daryl as they moved. Daryl took them, and cut through the padlock as quick as he could; pushing through the door so fast it almost came of its hinges, wanting to find the only two people who meant anything to him.

He found Merle looking sunburnt in the heat as he looked up at his younger brother while Eve smiled weakly at him.

"See I told you he'd come find us." She told Merle and punched him playfully on the forearm as Daryl cut them both free and helped them up as Rick gave them two bottles of water.

"Are ya alright, Christ Eve?" Daryl said holding her tightly.

She hugged him back and breathed in his scent.

"We're just fine, ain't we Merlie?" she asked with a yawn, as she wiped her forehead and drank the water gratefully. "Can't get a minute's damn sleep on the roof, mind you," she said as she looked at the other three and gave T-Dog a small nod for padlocking the door.

Glenn chuckled as he looked at Merle. "This sort of reminds me of the ending to The Hangover."

"Naw, ya don't say chinaman." Merle said sarcastically as they headed back down the stairs and went to the offices.

"So how do we get the bag of guns?" T-Dog asked Rick.

"I know how?" Glenn said surprising them all.

Glenn ended up drawing a large map of the streets on the ground, and had explained the plan to them all, which seemed straightforward enough. "We need to go down to the alleyway," Glenn explained. "Merle and Rick, you distract the walkers. We can grab the guns."

"What about me and Daryl?" Eve asked Glenn and he smiled slightly.

"You're machete and his crossbow are quieter than their guns." He explained and she nodded, impressed at him.

"Hey kid what did ya do before this?" Daryl asked him.

"Delivered pizzas, why?" He asked confused.

Daryl simply shook his head as they all headed to execute the plan and try and get their guns back, "Could have sworn he was in the army or something," Eve whispered to him as they made their way down into the alleyway, as Merle and Rick went to find a way to distract the walkers.

Daryl and Eve hid behind a crate of boxes as they watched Glenn's back.

Glenn got the guns as a car pulled up.

Just as Glenn was about to try and turn back to them, they seen an arm wrap around Glenn's waist and pull him into the car, before speeding off. "What the hell?" Eve muttered, noticing a guy running towards the car. Before he could reach it, the car had gone, and he backed up into the alleyway, closing the gate so that no walkers could get in.

"Who the hell are you?" Eve snapped at him,

"I'm not telling you anything." The man yelled and Daryl punched him as Rick and T-Dog ran over.

"What's going on?"

"Some group took Glenn," Eve explained. "And the guns. Glenn was just about to grab them when they pulled him into their car. They left this one behind," she said as she shoved the other man forward.

"What's yer name boy?" Merle asked, and again, the man refused to answer.

Daryl sighed, taking things into his own hands, and lifting his crossbow, firing a shot into the man's ass. "OW!" he cried out, grabbing at the arrow and scrunching his face in pain. "MIGUEL! My name is Miguel."

"Miguel where did your group take our friend?" Rick asked him as they hurried into the department store with the guns they had and sat him down on a chair.

"You know we can do this easy way or the hard way, your choice?" Eve told him and Miguel swallowed when Daryl dumped a hand on his lap.

"OH JESUS!"

"See what I did to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl snapped at him.

"Where the hell d'ya get that, baby brother?" Merle asked frowning as he watched Miguel panic and fidget in his chair, effectively knocking the hand to the ground.

"The nursing home!" Miguel answered quickly. "They'll be at the nursing home with Guillermo."

"Who's Guillermo?" Rick asked him and he swallowed slightly when Eve spoke and it was with a deadly edge to her voice.

"Daryl, baby please tell this moron what happened to that guy who put his hands on me." She said to him and he smirked slightly as he pulled her into him tightly.

"He ended up with no hands to put on anyone else," Daryl said flatly as he glared at Miguel, who looked scared of the people around him,

"Guillermo is the leader of our group!" he blurted out, not intending to lose any of his body parts today. "We stay at a nursing home not far from here. We need those guns, 'cause we look after the elderly people, we keep them hidden away from the walkers. We're not bad people, I swear. They probably only have your man because you have me. Take me back to them, let me talk to them, we can work something out. Maybe even work out a deal with our guns too."

"My guns," Rick corrected him; he had gotten those himself from the Sheriff station in Kings County, and wasn't going to give them up so easily.

"Alright then, let's go meet Guillermo." Rick said as they headed off with Miguel in front and his hands tied behind his back.

Daryl and Eve walked side by side as they held their weapons tightly in their hands and Daryl couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked.

Eve smiled at Daryl as they reached the nursing home and gave his arm a quick squeeze.

They all seen men on the roof pointing guns at them, but Daryl aimed his crossbow at Miguel's head, ready to fire if need be. He led them inside, where around fifteen men all turned and pointed weapons at them.

Rick was ready for gunfire, before they seen an elderly woman come downstairs and look at the new people curiously. "Are you here for tea?"

"Erm no Miss, we're looking for our friend called Glenn." Rick explained and she smiled at them all warmly.

"The Asian boy? Please come inside." She said warmly and they followed after her as they saw elderly people looking at them curiously.

They had been introduced to Guillermo and were now following him through a corridor. "Why didn't you just stop and explain this to us?" Rick asked as he watched some of the men, who looked tough and like gangsters, administer medicine to the elderly and care for them. "We were ready to come in here and shoot this place up, we thought you were dangerous."

"We thought you were the dangerous ones," Guillermo explained. "We thought you were going to come in here and take everything we had. That's why we took your man, just to be safe," he said as he led them into a room where Glenn was helping look after an old man.

"Oh hey guys," he said with a small smile, pleased to see them, but he knew he wasn't in danger here anymore.

"What the hell man, we thought you were being eaten by dogs." T-Dog said stunned as they saw three small dogs barking at them.

"Hey there little guy." Eve said stroking one of the dogs as everyone talked quietly and she let the dog go back to its owner.

"We'll split the guns with you." Rick said quietly, it was only right.

"In fact, why don't you all come back with us?" Rick asked quietly. "We have more people at out camp, more to protect each other," he offered. It could be beneficial; their group might be able to do with the extra help too.

Guillermo shook his head, as he split the guns and handed some back to Rick and the group. "Thanks for the offer, but most of the people we care for are too fragile to move," he said with a small sigh. "We'll be alright here."

"Alright, you all be careful." Eve said shaking his hand and he nodded at them as they made their way back to the van.

* * *

Rowan was sitting in the tent with Travis as she packed away the clean clothes she had washed as Travis grabbed Rose's hand.

"Why don't you keep me company?"

Rowan watched them and narrowed her eyes. She wouldn't have her daughter suffer her father anymore. "Leave her alone, Travis," she said firmly as she stood up and walked towards them. "Rose, you run outside and play with Sophia," she said quickly as Travis glared at her and grabbed her wrists.

"What are you playing at bitch?" he snapped as he shoved her back and grabbed at her throat. They heard Carol calling out that dinner was ready; Amy and Andrea had caught some fish earlier. He pressed his fingers harder into her throat and pushed her away. "We're going to finish this later."

"I'm looking forward to it." She said coldly and walked off with Rose holding her hand tightly as they sat down and ate the food as they saved some for Rick, Daryl, Merle, Glenn and T-Dog.

"I hope Evie's alright, mom." Sophia said softly and Carol hugged her tightly.

"I'm sure they're fine, sweetie." She assured her.

They sat around and enjoyed the fish as they talked happily. Glad to have a proper meal for once that actually filled them. Amy put her plate down and wiped her hands before getting up. "Where are you going?" Andrea asked confused.

"I have to pee," Amy said quietly. "Jeez, you try to be discreet around here," she said with a small laugh, as the others chuckled and watched her head off into the RV.

"So who thinks that Eve and Merle are dead?" Lori asked with a laugh and no one answered as she looked around frowning.

"What, what did I say?" She asked confused.

"That was a horrible thing to say, mom." Carl said quietly and he moved away from his mother to go and sit by Sophia and Rose.

"I was joking." She said tiredly and no one laughed.

"Well it wasn't funny," Rowan said as she glared at her and sat with Carol, trying to avoid looking at Travis, she knew she was really in for it later, and she was terrified of what he was going to do.

"Hey guys we're out of toilet paper!" Amy called out as she opened the door and the walker bit down on her arm.

All hell broke loose as they saw Travis shooting at the walkers and everyone started to scream in fright as they fought the walkers.

"OH MY GOD ROSE!" Rowan screamed as she picked up her daughter and Carl stayed by her side along with Carol as they tried to keep safe.

* * *

The group had almost made it back to the quarry in the van when they heard it. The sound of the gunshots in the distance was unmistakable. They got out of the van quickly and looked at each other, before they pulled out their weapons, and ran. Ran like hell. As they stood at the top of the hill that over looked the quarry area, each one of them felt dread in their stomachs. They could see their people in the distance, but they had company. Walkers.

"FUCK MOVE!" Rick yelled and they all nodded as they ran to the quarry and shot down the walkers with Eve shoving her machete into a walker's eye.

"AUNT CAROL, SOPHIA, ROSE, ROWAN!" She called out and saw them backed up against a tree with three walkers as she shot them in the head.

"Get into the RV!" she called out to them, and the four of them nodded and hurried inside. She looked around and saw Miranda and Morales take the kids in too, along with Lori and Carl. Andrea was sitting outside with Amy on the floor, sobbing over her body, and Eve moved to cover her.

Shane and Rick took out the walkers in the camp, while the rest of the men went to try and stop anymore getting in.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Merle yelled as they all surveyed the carnage around them as they all started to pile up the bodies.

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Jim told Dale and he knew why Jim had, they were graves.

"Who did we lose?" Daryl asked quietly and Eve sighed heavily.

"Fifteen of our people." She told him sadly.

The others came out of the RV and looked around horrified. Carol walked over to where Ed was lying dead, with Sophia holding onto her hand tightly.

They all heard Andrea's sobs as she sat next to Amy's body and cried for her sister, with Dale going to sit by her.

"Has anyone seen Travis?" Rowan asked.

"He's over there by the camp fire snorting up crack." Merle said disgusted and they all looked up to see Travis smoking a joint.

"Asshole." Eve said furious.

"Bastard, he shoulda died instead of these folks." Daryl added as they all started to clean up and decide where to go.

"I say we go to Fort Benning," Shane suggested as he stood by Lori, while Carl was hugging his father tightly. "I think they'll have plenty of people there, plenty of weapons, supplies, that sort of thing."

"What about the CDC?" Rick offered. "I'm sure if they have a cure or anything it'll be there. They might know some information about what this whole thing is anyway," he said as they burned the bodies of the people they hadn't gotten a chance to know. "We can set off at sunrise, and hopefully we'll be there by nightfall if things go to plan."

Everyone nodded in agreement just as they heard growling and saw a huge herd heading straight towards them.

"EVERYONE GET TO A CAR!" Rick yelled and they all nodded as Daryl and Eve ran to the truck with Rowan and Rose getting into the Cherokee with Carol, Sophia, Lori, Carl and Rick while Merle got on the bike, Travis got in a black SUV.

"Follow us to the hunting lodge!" Merle yelled and they all drove off.

They drove back the road they had only previously came a couple of days before and drove through the forest to get to the lodge where they parked up their vehicles. They stepped out and looked around, making sure the area was clear from walkers. "We only got two bedrooms and a couch, so y'all are gonna have to bring yer stuff in and sleep in the living room," Merle told them annoyed that he wasn't going to have much private space to himself. "Carol and Sophia can have the bedroom."

"Mind if Rose and I share with you?" Rowan asked urgently, avoiding Travis, and hopefully a beating.

"Not at all, sweetie." Carol assured her and she nodded in thanks as they went into the room and Daryl looked at Eve.

"Wanna share?" He asked her quietly.

"Of course." She said and then smiled at him seductively as she leaned in closer and whispered.

"That is where we first slept together." She said quietly with a warm look in her eyes and he smiled as they headed upstairs with Midnight.

* * *

Eve was in the shower thanking god that they still had hot water when she felt Daryl come in next to her and get under the hot water.

"Hey there," she said with a small smile as she turned around to look at him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Daryl didn't even say anything, just kissed her hard on the mouth as he moved her away from the water and pushed her back against the shower wall, forcefully enough that she let out a small gasp. She lifted her hands up and began to trail them down his sides, letting her fingers trace his hard ab muscles. Daryl smiled, happy to have a minute's peace with her as he gazed into her eyes. Eve could feel the need from him growing, radiating off him, and making her stomach muscles clench tight.

His lips kissed at her shoulder, the spray from the water hitting the both of them. Eve tilted her head back letting his lips travel across her throat, along her neck and collarbone, and down to her heaving breasts. Daryl shifted her around slightly and placed his hands on her breasts, squeezing gently, making her moan as she leaned back against the wet tiles. He ducked his mouth down, taking one of her nipples into his mouth and sucking lightly. She squirmed under him, her body aching to have him inside her.

She let her hands wander up his back, feeling the roughness where his scars were, before her hands came to a stop as they tangled themselves in his hair. He pushed his body against hers, her naked skin against him, and felt his cock growing harder. Eve began to grind against him, feeling his erection pushing into her stomach. "Need ya now, Eve," he said breathlessly as he kissed back up to her mouth and she moaned against his lips. He placed his hands on her ass and picked her up enough that she could wrap her legs around his waist.

He ran his finger down until he found the most sensitive part of her body, brushing over lightly making her gasp.

"Fuck, yer so wet for me, ain't ya?" he growled, as he pulled his finger away and licked it clean. He made sure he was gripping her tightly, before positioning himself, and sliding her down onto his hard cock, making them both groan in pleasure as he felt her tight walls around him. He pulled out slightly before thrusting forwards again, picking up his speed fairly quickly.

Eve wrapped her arms around him to keep herself up, her mouth connecting with his in a kiss as he began moving faster inside her as their hips smacked against each other, their breathing becoming heavy. The shower and the mirrors in the room filled with steam as they tried to keep each other quiet, knowing they had company in the house. She arched her back and rocked her hips against his, their bodies moving in perfect harmony. Daryl took her bottom lip into his mouth, and began nipping and sucking gently. She could feel herself fast approaching the edge.

"Daryl... close," she breathed into his ear.

"Alright, babe," he panted as he reached down between them and found her clit with his fingers, pressing roughly against it, and making her bury her face into his shoulder, muffling her cries as she found her release, and her body trembled with pleasure. Daryl held onto her hips tightly as he thrust into her a few more times and bit down on her neck as he came, spilling himself inside her.

She didn't need to speak and neither did he as she gently placed a kiss on his lips, telling him everything.

"Come on, let's get ready for bed." She said as they stepped out of the shower and got dry before pulling on some clothes and getting under the sheets.

"Thought I lost ya." He said quietly.

"I'm here, I'm alright," she said as Midnight jumped up on the bed and cuddled into her. "Besides, you would have been alright. I need to go to the pharmacy in the morning," she added as she scratched Midnight's ears.

"What for?" Daryl asked, turning out the light.

"Well, for a start, I need another pack of morning after pills," she pointed out. "We forgot the condom again. We really need to stop doing that in the shower. But we need some bandages and antiseptic creams and stuff too; hopefully they haven't all been taken already."

"Alright, ya be careful." He said holding her tightly as they both fell into a dreamless sleep when Daryl looked at her quickly.

He gently trailed a finger along her soft right cheekbone and smiled softly as he held her tightly to him and kissed her cheek.

She would never know how much he cared about her.


	4. The CDC

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 4

* * *

Carol and Rowan were in the kitchen the next morning, as Rose and Sophia played in the sitting room. They were making some pancakes for breakfast, trying to use up all the mix before it went off.

"You know, the table needs set if you feel like helping," Carol said to Lori with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure Eve can do it." Lori said annoyed as they saw Eve come down with her gun in her black leather holster along with her machete.

"I'm going to the pharmacy to get some things; do any of you need anything?" She asked as she ate an apple.

"Some more vitamins would be nice if you can find any," Rowan said with a small smile. "Helps keep our strength up when we don't have any food."

Eve nodded. "Got it."

She then headed outside to where the truck was and got in to drive to the local pharmacy as everyone got up.

"So what's the plan Rick?" Shane asked calmly.

"We'll stay here for a few days, gather our strength and stock up on supplies." Rick said as they all saw Travis come down.

"This place ain't good enough to stay in for long," he said bitterly as he sat down at the table and looked at Rowan, expecting to be fed. "We should move on, find somewhere more secure and less... Trashy," he said disgusted as he lit up a cigarette at the breakfast table, much to everyone's annoyance.

"And where would you have us go, we don't have enough fuel and for all we know Fort Benning and the CDC could be gone." Rowan said honestly.

"I wasn't asking you, slag." He spat at her.

"Hey!" Rick warned him as he sat down at the table and glared at the slightly larger man, who he was sure he could still pin down if he tried. "That's enough of that, we treat our women with respect and don't say shit like that to them," he said and Rowan gave him a small smile and nodded in thanks, as they all began to eat their breakfast that Carol and Rowan served. "So why don't we all introduce ourselves a little more?" he suggested. "There's no point in being strangers, we're a group now. Tell us what you did, and tell us something about yourself."

"I'll start," Rick added, trying to make conversation. "I was a Sheriff back in Kings County, Shane here was my deputy. I've been married to Lori for seven years, and we had Carl eleven years ago," he said smiling. "He was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Andrea spoke up next. "I'm Andrea; I used to be a lawyer. Amy was my sister, and we were travelling to Florida to see my parents when this happened. Dale found us and took us in."

"I'm Carol Greene and this is my daughter Sophia, my niece is Eve Greene, she went on a supply run." Carol said as Merle introduced himself.

"My name is Merle Dixon and that's my younger brother, Daryl, we're best friends with Eve and known her since we were all young." Merle said calmly.

"I'm Daryl and Eve's best friend." Daryl said taking a sip of his water as Eve came in and opened the door, her arms were filled with boxes.

"I'm Eve Chelle Greene and I'm Daryl and Merle's best friend, Carol's niece, Sophia's cousin and Rowan's best friend." She said with a friendly smile.

"Hey, are you alright?" Rick asked warmly as he took some of the boxes from her and helped her carry them in. "Did you get everything you need? Didn't run into any trouble in the pharmacy?"

"What's the walker situation like?" Shane added.

"Got everything that was requested," she said as she gave the women their items. "No trouble, and there's not so many walkers on the way into town. Pretty clear actually."

"That's good; at least we won't have to deal with walkers then." Lori said as she sat and watched the others unpack the supplies.

Eve took the morning after pills and condoms into her and Daryl's room and quickly took one of the pills and drank some water as Daryl came in.

"Goin' on a hunt, wanna come?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I guess so," she nodded as she pulled on her leather jacket and stood up, slipping her hunting knife into her belt, as they headed back downstairs to let the others know that they were going to be gone for a bit.

They headed outside where they walked in a content silence as they looked for something that could feed their group.

"Are ya mad at me?" He asked out of the blue.

She glanced at him as they continued to walk through the forest, moving so quietly it was almost like there was nothing there. "No," she said as she shook her head and held onto her knife tightly. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because of last night." He said and Eve smiled gently at him as she stopped walking and gently touched his stubbled cheek.

"I wasn't angry at you last night; I was just worried that's all." She assured him.

"Alright." He said as they found a deer.

"Besides, it would have been my fault just as much as yours," she said as they crouched down and looked at the deer. "You want this one or shall I get it?"

"I got it," Daryl said as he fired his crossbow at the deer, hitting the animal exactly in the heart as they both waited for it to fall to the ground.

The animal crumpled to the floor and twitched before dying and they took it back to the lodge as they kept an eye out for walkers.

"Hey Barry, have you checked the Dixons lodge?" A male voice asked.

"Not yet."

Eve had just been about to grab the deer's legs before they both hid behind a tree again. "Who the hell is that?" she whispered to Daryl as she looked to see where the voices were coming from. If they were in danger, there was no doubt the group would need to leave and find somewhere else to stay... "How did they know about the lodge? They seemed to know you..."

"I ain't ever met them and neither has Merle." Daryl whispered back as they saw that the group had about fifteen men and heavy ammo and weapons.

"We have to get back to the others." She whispered and he nodded as they watched the men drive off and they dragged the deer back to the lodge.

"Hey, you guys got food," Rowan said smiling as she helped them to bring the deer inside and they set it down to prepare for dinner.

"Yeah, we got food, but we got a problem too," Eve said as she looked at where Rick and Shane were. "There's a group out there, they seem to know about the lodge. And they don't seem friendly neither. I think if you guys planned to move the group out of here, then we should go pretty quickly."

"You don't tell us what to do," Lori said glaring at her.

"Neither do you, you may be Rick's wife but that doesn't give you the right to order everyone around like you are the first lady here or the queen." Eve said calmly as she tied her blonde hair into a ponytail.

"Alright, everyone pack your stuff, we're getting out of here." Rick told everyone and they all nodded as they hurried to pack up.

* * *

Rowan hurried upstairs to pack her and Rose's things when a bullet hit the window next to her.

"Oh god," she panicked as she sat down at the other side of the wall, away from the window. She took a deep breath as she waited for it to be over. Rick had been walking past the door when he heard the window smash. He ran in and looked at Rowan.

"Pack your stuff fast," he said quickly as he took out his gun and rushed to the window. "I'll cover you until you're ready."

She nodded and quickly packed her and Rose's things as they both hurried downstairs where the others were waiting.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of here." Shane said as they all hurried out of the lodge and into the cars with Daryl, Midnight and Eve getting into their truck with their things in the back as they all followed after Rick.

"Where are going now?" Eve asked Daryl.

Daryl shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to follow Rick and see," he said as they all pulled away from the lodge and out onto the main highway, following the RV that was in the lead with Rick and his family inside.

"Are we going to the CDC?" Rowan asked quietly, she and Rose had gotten into the back of the RV before they all pulled away.

"Looks like it." Dale said as they followed after Rick, it was getting dark outside and they weren't safe when it got dark.

"Looks, like we're here." Dale said as they all pulled up in front of a deserted CDC, bodies of walkers and people littered the floor and Rowan was thankful she was wearing jeans and her black low heeled boots.

She held Rose to her tightly as they walked to the entrance, Daryl and Eve in front of her with Midnight and Merle. "This sure as fuck, seems like a bad idea to me." Merle grunted as they covered their noses and mouths from the stench of rotting bodies that surrounded them as they reached the door.

Rick began to bang loudly on the doors. "Help!" He yelled out in hopes that someone would hear them.

Rick continued to shout and hit the doors, waiting on them to be invited inside with a warm welcome. But after about ten minutes, it was starting to look hopeless. "Anyone there?" he asked, as he tried to pull up the shutters.

"Doesn't look like it," Rowan said quietly. "I don't think we can stay here, there doesn't seem to be anyone letting us in," she pointed out.

Shane nodded. "She's right, it's no use, and we can't stay out here all night. We should go, head to Fort Benning."

"Walkers!" Daryl yelled out, drawing several terrified shrieks from the children and women. Eve gripped her machete."There's no one here!" Lori yelled panic in her voice as she held Carl to her.

Eve stabbed a walker that Daryl didn't get; it fell to the ground with a thud as more approached. With Daryl shooting and grabbing his arrows again she ran around, stabbing as she tried to keep the others safe.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled angrily.

Rick was standing firm where he was, he wasn't giving up on this idea. He had caught movement in one of the cameras. Rick was convinced there was someone in there, and he was damned if he was going to be leaving this place.

"Please, we're desperate... Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left... If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" Rick continued to yell at the camera, as Lori and Shane started to pull him away. He seen there were still walkers around out the corner of his eye, and made a final remark. "You're killing us!"

There was a loud noise as they slid up, they all winced at the bright light that they were bathed in moments later.

With a quick flick of her sword Eve sheathed it and Daryl grabbed her hand as they ran into the CDC.

"Hello?" Rick called out.

"Watch out for Walkers." Dale said to Daryl as he brought up the rear.

"Hello?" Rick said again, loudly. The hall was massive and it was empty.

They all heard someone cock a gun, they all quickly turned only to see a suspicious looking man, and he eyed them all warily. "Anyone infected?" He asked.

"We lost some people, but they're not with us anymore," Rick said quickly as he looked around the building, everything was white and looked so... Surgical? "We don't want to cause any trouble; we just need some shelter for the night."

The man sighed. "You all submit to blood test, that's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick said honestly.

He lowered his gun and then pointed at the door. "If you have things you want to bring in, do it now – when those door shut they stay shut and will not open again for whatever reason." He said.

Eve ran to the truck with Daryl ran with her. "Keep the containers in here." He said to her.

"But why?" She asked as she grabbed Danny's baby bag along with hers and Daryl's.  
He looked annoyed. "This is the CDC, if they ain't got food, somethin's gotta be wrong –"

"Oh." She said quietly.

Once they grabbed their things they all ran back into the building. The man introduced himself as Dr. Edwin Jenner. He then led them into an Elevator where they all managed to fit themselves into it

Daryl questioned the gun he was holding, and Jenner gave a small laugh before looking around him. "There were a whole bunch of weapons lying around, so I learned how to use it. But you lot don't look very dangerous." Jenner turned to look at Rose who was still looking worried about the whole situation. "Except you. I'll have to keep an eye on you," he joked. Rose gave him a small, shy smile and everyone else remained silent as they reached their destination.

The elevator ride was not a very long one, before long they were out into a hallway. "Are we underground?" Carol asked as she glanced around at the white walls.

"Why, are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked as he glanced back at her.

"A little…" She admitted as she put her hand on her daughter's shoulder with Eve giving her right shoulder a squeeze as Jenner looked at her.

"Try not to think about it."

"Is that the best you can do Doc?" Eve asked with an awkward chuckle.

The all walked on down the hallway until he led them into a dark room. He looked around and then he spoke up, "VI, bring up the lights in the big room." They all winced again as lights flooded the room to reveal a massive work station full of dead computers and screens. "Welcome to Zone 5."

"Where is everyone?" Rowan asked as she looked around. Apart from Jenner, there were no workers. Nothing like she had expected to see, busy men and women, and scientists trying to figure out a cure. "This place looks empty."

"That's because it is," Jenner said quietly. "It's only me here. I'm the only one left."

Rowan looked confused. "But what about the woman that you were speaking to? Vi?"

"Vi, say hello to our guests, tell them… Welcome." Jenner said.

"Hello guests, welcome." The woman's voice said.

"An Artificial Intelligence system." Eve said in awe.

"I'm all that's left." He said to them. "I'm sorry." He looked around at them. "Follow me."

They followed him through the room into a smaller room that looked like a Lecture Hall as he pulled out a cardboard box from a closet.

They all sat on the chairs that filled the room.

"I'm going to take the tests from you all now," Jenner said as he pulled out some vials for the blood and a pen to label them all.

"Will it hurt?" Rose asked worriedly.

"You might feel a little prick, but nothing serious," Jenner tried to assure the children.

"I don't like needles," Rowan said quietly, chewing on her lip. She had been nervous around them, ever since Travis had stuck one into her when they had argued one night. Luckily, there was nothing in it, and nothing serious came out of it.

"Just try not to think about it." Jenner assured her and she nodded as he inserted the needle and took blood from her and went onto Rose who barely flinched.

"Most children would be afraid." Jenner said softly.

"Not me." Rose said bravely, making Rowan smile faintly along with Daryl, Eve, Carol, Merle and Rick.

"Let's get you two next," Jenner said smiling at Carl and Sophia as he moved over to take their blood and put it in the vials, writing their name on them.

"Alright, adults next," Jenner said as they lined up.

"Can I go first?" Rowan asked, wanting to get it over with.

"Sure." Jenner said as Rowan came over and allowed him to insert the needle into her vein as he took blood then moved onto Rick and Eve and Daryl.

Eve sat down in her spot as she watched Jenner tighten the band around her bicep. He then touched her arm to look for the vein, when he found it he rubbed alcohol onto it and then he stuck the needle into her flesh. She always hated needles but she chose to watch as crimson blood swirled into the syringe.

Once he pulled it out again he put a band-aid on the tiny wound before she got up. Andrea got up after her and Eve sat down, she felt a bit lightheaded. When was the last time they had a real meal?

As Andrea got up she swayed a bit and Jacqui was instantly at her side. She murmured words of comfort to Andrea who nodded slightly.

"Is she alright?" Jenner asked as he finished taking blood from everyone else and labelled all the vials, prepping them for testing.

"She's OK, she just hasn't eaten properly for days," Jacqui explained. "None of us have."

"That might be something I can help with," Jenner said with a faint smile. "Follow me."

* * *

They nodded and got up as they grabbed their things. They looked about happily when he led them to a dining room that was probably the cafeteria, he had pushed up several tables to make a long table and around it were many chairs. But what brought laughter to their weary faces was all the food that was spread out. They looked at Jenner and he smiled. "Enjoy."

They all sat down as they poured themselves wine, Sophia was between Carol, Merle, Daryl and Eve sat beside them, Dale was gleefully pouring wine, he had obviously had a glass already so he was in a good mood, "You know in Italy children have a little bit of wine for dinner… And in France." Dale said as he tried to pour wine for Carl who asked if he could taste some.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France he can have some," Lori muttered.

"It won't kill him. He can taste it," Rick smiled, as Carl began to get excited. Lori looked half amused and half annoyed, but she finally removed her hand from the top of the glass, and Dale filled it up. Carl picked it up, and took a sip of the liquid. Everyone burst out into laughter as Carl grimaced at the stuff, and spit the rest back into the glass, before his mother took it away with a smile and left it for herself.

Isobel happily poured herself some of the wine with Daryl sitting next to her as she sat back, Shane laughed as he looked at Carl. "Best stick to your Soda Pop, bud."

"Not you Glenn." Daryl said as he got up to get something from the table.

"What?" He said with a laugh, his cheeks were ruddy from all the alcohol he had consumed.

"Keep drinking little man, I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl said with a smirk.

Eve rolled her eyes but chuckled as she poured herself some more to drink. Sophia watched with a crinkled nose. They all looked up when Rick hit his spoon against his cup and then he stood up, "Seems like we haven't thanked out host properly." He said as he looked to Jenner who sat there watching them.

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog said as he raised his glass.

Everyone agreed and Daryl held up his bottle. "Booyah!"

Jenner gave them a faint smile, looking embarrassed, and went back to eating his food. "So when are you going to tell us what happened here, doc?" Travis asked as they ate.

Jenner got up then and looked at all of the group, taking a deep breath, before he began recalling the story of the C.D.C. at the start of the outbreak. He had told how many people had left to go and join their families back home, and how some of them had 'opted out'. People had killed themselves in fear of what was going to happen to them in the future. Jenner had explained his decision to stay was to continue his work on his research, and he had promised his wife he would do whatever he could.

"You didn't leave." Andrea said. "Why?"

"I just kept working… hoping… to do some good." Jenner said quietly.

"Dude… you are a total buzz-kill." Glenn said to Shane; his giggly mood was gone, they were all feeling a bit heavier with the information they had just received.

"Kill joy asshole." Merle grunted having a drink of his Southern Comfort along with Daryl and Eve.


	5. No Where Is Safe

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 5

* * *

"Shut the hell up," Travis snapped at him as he drank his way through the bottle of vodka he had found, as the others fell silent.

Once they were done, and they had cleared away the table Jenner led them down another hallway, he looked back at them briefly. "Most the facility's powered down – even the housing area, but the offices aren't that bad – and the couches are comfortable… there are cots in storage if you want them…" He told them as he gestured to the doors they passed by. "There's a rec-room down the hall that you kids might enjoy – just don't plug in the video games – or anything that draw power. Same applies to the rest of you – if you shower… go easy on the hot water." He then left them.

"Hot water?" Glenn repeated as if he was unable to believe what he had just heard.

"That's what the man said!" T-Dog cried happily, as the two of them broke off in a run towards the showers.

"Gonna be nice to wash this dirt out of my hair," Rowan said with a faint smile as she walked with Rose's hand tightly in hers.

* * *

Eve pulled her white tank top off along with her boots then her jeans as the room began to steam up and then her underwear. She stood under the warm water sighing in comfort.

"Mind if I join ya?" Daryl's southern drawl asked as she saw him pull off his shirt, the muscles in his arms flexing as she remembered how those arms had wrapped around her as they had sex.

"Not at all, it's better if we share anyway." She said as Daryl pulled off his jeans and then his boxers, his cock springing free.

Eve felt a burning heat between her legs as Daryl looked at her with a smirk.

"Ya want me then have at me woman." He said as he stepped into the shower beside her as they both washed their bodies with Eve trailing her hands along his torso.

"You're beautiful." She said softly and leaned into him.

Then she kissed him, so hard she threw him off-balance; he braced himself one-handed on the shower wall. She sighed, teeth snagging his lip, and he slid his hand up her thigh. She raised herself up to kiss him deeper, drawing down hard on his neck, fingers slipping down his stomach.

He lifted her up into his arms and she crossed her legs around him. Daryl balanced her against the shower wall, his hands clinging and cool with shower-water. He pressed his lips into the sloping curve where her shoulder met her neck, his hand curling warm against her ribs. She slicked herself down over him and he groaned, pushed her harder against the wall.

She gripped him tightly as he pounded into her, and she tried desperately not to make a noise, the others were in the showers right next to them. "Shit," she whispered as she bit down on the flesh at his shoulder the water luckily muffling the noise of their skin slapping together. "Jesus, Daryl," she panted, gripping onto his firm body tightly. "Oh god... I'm gonna cum," she said biting down on her lip. Hoping she would be able to hide the scream.

Her heart thrummed faster than she thought it ever could and she twisted like an eel in his grip. His hand slipped down between her legs, two fingers against her clit, and she gasped, a sound that gets stuck in her throat like the water gets stuck to her skin. A sharp sound escaped him, and his fingers curled into her hair.

Her spine went slack and she released him from her but was surprised when he pulled her into him and said softly.

"I'll make it up to ya in the morning, just wanted ya so bad." He said looking at her to see if she was angry at him only to feel her kiss him gently on the lips.

"Daryl I'll be looking forward to it." Eve said softly as they got ready for bed, she pulled on a pair of grey satin shorts and a matching cami while Daryl just simply pulled on a pair of black sweatpants, he watched as she took a glass of water and the morning after pill.

"Come on, let's see how comfy these sofas are," she said as she got the blankets Jenner had given them and lay down on the sofa, with Daryl laying down beside her, Midnight was curled up at the bottom of them.

He pulled her into him and held her tightly as they both heard the others go into their rooms for the night when they heard Lori speaking to Shane.

"Meet me in the rec room."

"I'll be there, Lori." Shane said softly.

"Fucking disgusting," Eve said with a sigh as she pulled up the blankets, and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Everyone awoke groggy the next morning, most of them hungover from the wine consumption the night before. T-Dog was in heaven with the kitchen and handed Eve a plate of powdered eggs and bacon as she sat down at the table, giggling at Glenn who was feeling worse for wear.

"I feel like shit." He groaned as they all sat down to eat with Daryl sitting down next to her as Rick and Lori came in, Shane who was already in the room watching Lori like a hawk.

"Bet ya, she'll start crying." Daryl said to her quietly as he tucked into the bacon.

Eve laughed at him. "You're on."

Rick sat down with Lori, as Carl glared at his mom. "Everything OK, son?" he asked worriedly.

Carl looked away, "Everything's good dad." He assured him, he loved his dad but was furious with his mother had been doing that to his dad with Shane of all people.

Rowan came in with Rose and Travis; she looked exhausted like she's had no sleep at all. "Morning guys," she said softly as she sat down at the table.

"Hey Rowan, how are you?" Carol asked.

"I'm alright thank you, how are you?" She asked as they all started to eat the food quietly and talked softly.

Jenner came in then. "Good morning." He said taking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, doc," T-Dog smiled happily, as he handed him a plate of breakfast, happy being back in his element as a chef.

"So when are we getting down to business?" Shane asked sharply as he avoided eye contact with anyone. "We came here for answers. Not eggs."

"Or fucking people's wives." Merle said in a low whisper.

Jenner looked at them all. "Follow me." He said finally and they followed him to a room filled with computers.

"Holy shit," Merle said, looking around. "You need any more computers?!"

Dr Jenner smiled. "All our work is stored on here. Please, everyone, take a seat."

They all took seat as they watched Jenner switch on the power.

"Give me a playback of TS-19." Jenner said as he looked up towards the ceiling.

"Playback of TS-19." Vi said.

They watched as the screens in front of them came to life, and an image appeared, it looked to be an x-ray, but it was possible to see right into the house. "Few people have ever got a chance to see this." Jenner said to them he sat down and looked at them all as they continued to watch the screen. "Very few."

"Is that a brain?" Rose asked, as she watched the head on the picture, going into some sort of internal view.

"An extraordinary brain." Jenner replied. "Not that it matters anymore." Rowan watched him as he said it; he seemed upset in some way, as if he had known the person who was on the screen now. "Take us in further, Vi." Jenner commanded, and the screen went into an 'enhanced view', where so much more came up onto the screen.

They watched as several lights filled the screen, illuminating the room. "What are those lights?" Rowan asked quietly.

"That's the life of an individual, experiences, memories..." Dr Jenner explained as best as he could.

"What makes us unique, right?" Eve asked from where she was sitting watching carefully. "What makes us... us?"

"That's right." Jenner smiled, looking back at the screen. He pointed to all the lights on the screen all around the brain. "These are synapses, impulses in the brain that carry messages, determine each of our thoughts, our words." Isobel noticed Daryl look downright confused at the explanations and fought the urge to laugh. "Since our birth until our death."

"Do you ever make sense?" Daryl asked as he lingered in the back.

"It's called Synapses." Jenner said. "Electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages – the determine everything a person says and does from the moment they are born to the moment they die."

"Die…" Rick started as he stared up at the screen before he looked at Jenner again. "Is this what this is? A visual?"

"Well, this is just the playback of the visual." Jenner said quietly as he looked at the screen, sadness on his face.

"Who was this person?" Travis asked.

"Test Subject 19," He said flatly. "Someone who was bitten and infected, and volunteered to have us record the project. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event." They watched as the screen scanned over and suddenly all the lights vanished from the screen, fading into nothing but darkness.

"What happened there?" Rowan asked confused, looking at Jenner for an explanation.

"It invades the brain like meningitis," Jenner explained. "The Adrenal glands haemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs and then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be is gone, just like that."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother.

"…Yes."

Suddenly, something else happened on the screen. The blackness was still there, apart from one glowing red light, right in the middle of the brain.

"What is that?" Andrea asked, as she watched intrigued.

"It restarts the brain?" Amy wondered, as she looked at Jenner for answers.

Lori shook her head. "No, that's impossible, right?"

"You tell me." He told them as he gestured to the screen.

Rick shook his head. "It's nothing like before… most of that brain is dark." He said as he pointed to the red lights. "It feels… wrong."

"Dark… lifeless…" Jenner said.

"But … that person is clearly alive again." Eve said. "That person is moving!"

Jenner nodded. "The frontal lobe, the Neo Cortex – the you… doesn't come back again… it's just a shell driven by a mindless instinct."

They saw a flash on the screen, and something shot through the head of the brain on the screen. Rowan jumped slightly, holding Rose's hand tightly. "What on earth was that?" she asked alarmed.

"He shot his patient in the head," Andrea said quietly. "Didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the work stations." Jenner instructed as he got up from his chair and went to take another drink.

Vi's voice came back again. "Powering down main screen and work stations."

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea said as he turned to them once more.

"It could be Microbial, viral, parasitic… fungal…" He said lamely.

"Or the wrath of God." Jacqui said worried.

"There's that." Jenner said.

"Somebody must know something." Andrea said. "Somebody… somewhere…"

"There are others… right?" Rick asked. "Other facilities…?"

"There may be some." Jenner said. "But we lost contact a long time ago."

"What do you mean you lost contact, you'd think a place like this would have back-ups -!" She was panicking, she stepped forward but a hand closed around her wrist, she turned around to look at Daryl who was frowning.

"Are you saying that there's nothing left?" Lori asked.

Jenner was silent.

"Man, I'm going to go get shit faced drunk again." Daryl said. "Come on Evie."

"Dr. Jenner," Rowan said quietly. "I don't mean to trouble you will all these questions and everything, but that clock on the wall," she began, pointing at the digital clock that no one had seemed to noticed before. "It seems to be counting down… what happens when it gets to zero?"

"The basement generators run out, and we lose power," Jenner said quietly as he avoided their gaze.

"And then?" Rick asked.

Jenner refused to answer.

"Doc, what happens?" Eve asked quietly.

He still did not answer.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked aloud as he spoke to the system.

"When the power runs out facility-wide decontamination will occur."

"What happens during facility wide decontamination?" Rowan asked worriedly, holding Rose to her tightly as Carol sat with an arm around Sophia.

Eve looked worried. "I don't like the sound of this."

Daryl watched her for a moment. "Come on, I got some whisky in my room, until they figure out what shit is goin' on."

She nodded and went into the room she shared with him as Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-Dog went to check the generators as everyone packed their stuff.

"There's no fuel down here at all," Rick said worriedly as they checked through the basement for spare. "And these generators are pretty much running on empty. I don't know what we're supposed to do now."

"Hopefully Jenner knows what he's doing and we figure this out," T-Dog said quietly.

Just at that minute the lights went out.

* * *

"What was that?" Eve asked, Midnight closely to her.

Daryl waved his hand around in the air. "Dunno, but the air conditioning is off too. Come on."

They headed outside the hallway to see it was dark and that the kids were clutching their animals looking scared.

"What's goin' on, the lights just turned off?" Daryl asked with a slur.

Jenner passed by them as he grabbed the bottle from Daryl. "Energy use had been prioritized now." Jenner said as he walked through the hall.

"Lights aren't a priority? And Air?" Dale asked.

"It's not up to me; Zone 5 is shutting itself down." Jenner replied as the lights in the hall went out.

"Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked angrily as they followed Jenner. "Hey man, I'm talking to you – what do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner said.

"Jenner, what is happening?" Rick asked as he joined them.

"The system is dropping all non-essential uses of energy. It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible moment, and we've just reached the half hour mark." The clock was now at the half hour mark; Jenner took another drink from the bottle before handing it to Daryl who snatched it back grumpily.

"It was the French." Jenner said finally.

"What?" Andrea asked confused.

"The last contact I ever made was with a CDC building in France," Jenner said quietly. "They were the only ones I could find left alive."

"That doesn't help us," Merle snapped. "Ya expect us to get a fucking boat and sail to France?"

Rick stood up and sighed as he looked around the room. "Alright, I think we should be leaving here, everyone go and get your stuff and meet me back-" He was cut off by the sound of an alarm ringing in the air and looked around surprised. "Jenner, what is that? What's going on?"

Jenner didn't answer, but Vi came back, "30 minutes until decontamination," her robotic, cold voice explained.

"Doctor Jenner, what's happening?" Rowan asked as she picked up Rose.

"We're getting out of here before those alarms attract every walker in the state!" Shane snapped. "Everyone go and get your stuff and let's move!"

Before they could get out, the exit door suddenly closed without warning.

"You're locking us in?!" Eve asked in disbelief as Jenner poured himself a glass of wine.

"I need to conserve power. It's better this way. You don't want to go out there again."

Carol blinked trying to understand what he was saying to them all. "You're going to kill us?" She asked shocked as an alarm went off.

She wasn't so sure herself, Eve felt like she too was on the brink of having a panic attack, but she couldn't – she had to be there for the others.

Daryl tried to attack Jenner; they pulled him away.

"I can't open those doors, I'm afraid. That's not something I control, the computers do... Didn't I tell you when you came in? Once those doors close, they don't open again, you knew what you were getting into. It'll be over in twenty eight minutes anyway, don't worry," he said as he looked at the clock.

"Why?" Rick asked worriedly. "What happens in twenty eight minutes?" Jenner didn't say anything.

"WHAT HAPPENS IN 28 MINUTES?!" Merle demanded, pointing a gun at his head for an answer.

"You know what this place is?" Jenner snapped back. "We've protected the public from some very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half of the country! Stuff you don't ever want getting out! In the event of a catastrophic event, such as a terrorist attack on the CDC... HIT's are deployed to keep any organisms from getting out."

"HITs?" Rick asked.

"Vi, define." Jenner said in a defeated voice.

"H.I.T, High Impulse Thermodynamic fuel air explosives consist of a two stage aerosol air emission that produces a blast of significantly greater power than and duration than any explosive except nuclear pressure as it ignites oxygen between –"

Eve felt tears force their way out of her eyes, she had never felt more terrified in her eyes as she buried her face into Daryl's chest. Carol hugged Sophia tightly as Rick hugged his family. "It sets the air on fire." Jenner said. "No pain, it puts an end to sorrow… grief… an end."

"WE'RE GOING TO BURN TO A FUCKING CRISP!" Rowan cried as she hugged Rose, trying to keep her calm. "You think that's an end to pain?"

"Would you rather be torn apart by one of those things?" Dr Jenner shot back, as the men started to attack the door with various weapons, trying to force their way out. "This will be... relatively painless."

Shane grabbed his gun and aimed it at Jenner. Rick tried to stop him, but Shane was filled with rage. He knew himself if he killed Jenner they had no way out, but he had to shoot something, anything. The men started to attack the doors with axes, and anything else they could find to get themselves out of the CDC.

"Please Jenner, just let us go," Rick begged. "Let us keep trying! We've come this far, all we're asking for is a chance."

It doesn't matter." Jenner said.

"It does matter." Rick said trying to convince him.

"We've survived this long," Lori said softly.

"Let us keep trying," Rick pleaded. "We don't have much, but we still have each other."

Jenner looked at them and nodded and pressed a button allowing them to leave the room.

"Come on." Daryl said grabbing Eve and dragging her to their room where they grabbed their things and headed to the reception area with Midnight.

* * *

Andrea and Jacqui were no where to be seen.

"Where are the others?" Rowan asked as she held Rose tightly and looked around for the other two women.

"She wanted to stay behind," T-Dog said sadly. "So did Andrea. Dale's gone to try and get her out, but if she doesn't move then we lose Dale too."

"Oh god." Eve said horrified as they watched Daryl and Shane trying to break the glass.

"I have something." Carol said as she looked through her bag quickly.

"I don't think a nail-file will work here, Carol." Shane sneered.

"Shut the fuck up, Robo fuck wife cop." Daryl snarled at him.

She pulled out a grenade and she held it out to Rick. "I found it in your pocket when I washed your pants."

They all paused and then Rick nodded. "Duck!" Shane yelled and they all ran away to get to a safe distance and Rick paused a moment before running their way, he jumped the moment it exploded and landed beside them.

When the smoke had cleared they ran to their cars, there were Walkers outside, Eve unsheathed her sword as she cut down one before stabbing it in the face, she cleared the path to the cars as the sound of gunfire blazed in the air; Daryl quickly put Midnight into the back of the truck as Eve shoved things into the trunk.

"Get in," he yelled at her, as he shoved her in roughly in front of him. "We got about ten seconds before this place blows."

Merle climbed into the truck with them, as Rowan, Rose, Travis, Lori, Carl and Rick all got into the RV. Carol and Sophia got into their truck with Glenn and T-Dog, and Shane got into his own car, just before a tremendous explosion shook their vehicles, and they were engulfed in a wave of heat as the CDC was blown to pieces. Rick glanced up and noticed that Andrea and Dale were crouched down behind some sandbags, safe for now, but Jacqui was nowhere in sight.

Shakily they got up and saw Dale and Andrea running towards the RV as they all started to drive.

"Jacqui never left…" Eve said quietly.

She let out a quiet sigh as she climbed back into the driver's seat. They all just sat there for a moment before their Caravan moved on. Eve was trying to keep her hysterical sobs at bay as she drove at the front of the group.

Daryl looked at her, unsure of what to do to stop her crying. "Uh... ya OK?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to think about it. Where are we supposed to go now?"

Daryl sighed; he didn't have a clue either. "Don't know but we're pulling up outside an abandoned motel." He told her as they saw Rick pull into the motel car park.

"So are we staying here?" Carol asked as they all got out of the cars.

"It's getting dark." Rowan said worried.

"We can't be on the road through the night," Rick said quietly. "It's not safe, so this place is the best option we've got."

"The best option we've got?" Lori snapped at him as she wrapped her arms around Carl. "Well, that sure is reassuring. What if we get attacked here in the middle of the night?"

"I'm sure it will be alright for just one night, Lori," Rowan said quietly.

"You don't get a say in this!" She screamed at Rowan and glared at Rick before storming into the motel as everyone watched in shock.

"What a fucking bitch." Eve said outraged as she went to comfort Rowan who was walking inside the motel as everyone got settled.

Daryl looked at Rick and shook his head, "Rowan is mine and Eve's best friend, that weren't right what she said." He said as he followed after them.

"Yeah, well, Lori is a little... off... These days," Rick said as he picked up his bags and took them inside and into his room with Carl.

* * *

Rowan sat down on her bed and pulled Rose into her tightly; she loved her daughter so much and hugged her tightly as she saw Travis come in.

"We need to talk."


	6. The Highway From Hell

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Authors Note: So I've replaced Rowan instead of Carol losing Sophia just to see how it would work x.

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 6

* * *

"What do we need to talk about?" Rowan asked with a glare as she put Rose into bed and tucked her in tightly with her teddy bear. "I don't have anything else to say to you. And I swear to God Travis, I've had it with you, I'm not weak anymore. If you lay a finger on me or my daughter, I'll scream this whole place down."

Travis smirked at her as he slammed her against the wall and laced his hands on her throat tightly, she started to choke slightly.

"You really think anyone gives a fuck about you and Rose, Shane and Lori think you're useless and don't pull your weight around." He snarled.

"Let me go." She said struggling to breathe.

They heard a light knock on the door before Rick opened it up and walked in. "I just came to apologize for Lori earlier, I-" He paused when he seen Travis pinning Rowan to the wall, and his face darkened. "LET HER GO!"

"Yeah or what, you'll tell me off." Travis sneered at him before an arrow pierced his shoulder along with a throwing star and they all looked around to see Daryl and Eve had come in.

"Back the fuck away from her, now," Rick snarled at him again as he went over to where Rowan was clutching her throat and rubbed her back gently. "You get the hell away from this group, and you don't come back! Rowan, you should find someone to share a room with tonight, you and Rose, you shouldn't be on your own," he said as he kicked at Travis who was on the ground.

"You can share with us," Eve offered.

"Thank you." Rowan said quietly and she picked up Rose who was still asleep and headed into Daryl and Eve's room before touching Rick's arm gently.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Rick gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry about it; we look out for our own. If you need anything, just come to me, alright?"

Rowan nodded. "I will thank you again," she said softly.

He nodded and watched her go inside as a very jealous Travis and Lori watched on, they would make that bitch pay.

* * *

Everyone gathered outside the next morning, Rowan was sporting some pretty nasty bruising on her neck and tried to cover it with a scarf.

"So where are we going now?" Carol asked Rick as she handed everyone an energy bar to eat.

"We'll head to Fort Benning, see if anyone's there." He said as they all finished eating and packed up their things as they all headed outside and got into their cars.

They drove to the highway.

They looked out the window when the cars in front of them slowed down. Daryl sighed quietly. "Looks like we got a blockage ahead."

Eve looked around the highway to see cars crashed along the road with bodies in them.

"How the hell are we going to get through?" She asked just as the others pulled up.

Daryl looked around. "I guess we gotta clear a way through them."

Eve nodded and slid into the driver's side as Daryl got out and pulled out his bike and drove through a gap as she saw Lori frowning at her.

She raised an eyebrow at the woman. If anything it should be the other way around after what Lori had done to her husband and son. Eve let out a sigh as she looked at her. "Can I help you with something?"

"You can tell me why Carl is looking at me as if I've done something terrible, that's something you can help me with." She snapped her dark hazel eyes glaring at her.

Eve looked at her angrily, "Might have something to do with the fact, that you were fucking Shane and he saw you doing it." She snapped at her.

"He saw that?" Lori asked horrified as she looked down at the ground, her face immediately going red.

"Yeah, you might want to be a little more private about your affair in future," Carol said glaring at her. "Have some respect for yourself, at least."

"Has he told Rick?" Lori asked alarmed.

"No," Eve said quietly. "Lucky for you. But you should."

Lori shook her head frantically "I can't tell him, he'll hate me." She fretted fearfully.

Rowan looked at her disgustedly, "If you don't tell him Lori, Rick will find out anyway and will never forgive you. Carl doesn't seem to forgive you." She told her just as Daryl was driving towards them.

"There's no clear path through," Daryl said as he looked at them all.

"We're going to have to drive some of the cars off the road," Rick said as he came over to check it out.

They drove some of the cars off with some effort and managed to clear a path, they drove through the path as they saw decomposing bodies in cars.

"Looks like they died trying to get out of the cars." Merle said as he looked at the bodies.

Suddenly the cars stopped up ahead, and once again they got out and looked around. Dale came towards them rubbing his eyes tiredly as he gave Rick an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, we aren't going any further, and not right now anyway, the radiator is gone in the RV. We're going to need the parts to fix it. I knew the tape wouldn't hold it forever."

"Why don't we have a look for some supplies while we wait?" Carol suggested, holding Sophia's hand.

"Are you kidding? This place is a graveyard," Lori said disgusted as she looked around.

"Well, these people won't need it anymore," Rowan mumbled as she took out her knife, and walked towards a couple of cars to look for something that could be of use to them.

A dead body slumped against her and she jumped back for a second before taking the head off. Lori watched in disgust as Rowan rummaged through the car, before pulling out a rucksack of supplies. "You're sick," Lori snapped. "You've been spending too much time with that Dixon boy and that Greene girl. Stealing from people. And you call yourself a mother?!"

"Don't you dare say that to me, you let your own son see you having sex with someone else when you should have been with his father!" she said as she pointed at Lori accusingly. "You're no better than me, in fact, I'd say your worse," she said, turning back to the car where she picked out some clothes for her and Rose.

Lori glared at her but walked away as Eve walked towards her and they looked through the suitcases with Carol.

"We're going to need clothes," Carol commented, pulling out a red short-sleeved shirt. She caught Eve's glance and then said, almost sheepishly, "Ed never let me wear nice things like this."

* * *

Dale kept watch atop his Winnebago while the others (save for Andrea) made their way along the road. Suddenly he alerted Rick, who whisper-yelled to those nearest him – walkers were approaching! Everyone took cover as best they could underneath various vehicles, but T-Dog accidently cut his arm on some jagged automobile metal while ducking for cover, leaving a nasty and profusely bleeding gash. Eve watched from underneath a minivan with Midnight as Daryl, emerged from his hiding place to kill a walker and then place its carcass on a prone T-Dog as a cover.

The huge group or "herd" as they would later describe it, of walkers slowly passed by as everyone held as still as possible in their various safe places.

* * *

Rose was watching the herd go past from underneath a car when she thought it was clear and suddenly stepped out. Before anyone could stop her, the walker had noticed her hand and crouched down, clawing its way under the car to try and get to her. Rose panicked, looking around for help, and the only thing she could think to do was run. She backed out the opposite end of the car and over the rail, as she headed down the hill and into the forest as fast as her feet would take her.

Rick noticed her go and sprang to his feet, plunging his knife into the walker, before he took off after Rose in a sprint, as fast as he could.

He caught up to her and picked her up as he stabbed another walker in the eye and then smashed the other one's head in with his knife as more came.

"Shoot them, shoot them." Rose pleaded as they ran from the three walkers and managed to find a bush.

"I can't," Rick said quietly. "It's only going to cause more noise," he said as he found a small area of water with a sort of cave at the other side. He hurried her over to it, and made sure she was secure. "You stay here, alright?" he asked quietly. "I'll go and take care of those walkers, you'll be safe, and then I'll come back and find you. And if for any reason you need to run, make sure the sun is always on your right hand side."

Rose nodded and clutched her teddy bear tightly, as Rick ran off to take care of the rest of the walkers.

* * *

There was a flurry of confusion as everyone emerged from their hiding places. T-Dog was bleeding profusely, Rose had disappeared into the wilderness and Andrea had killed a walker that had made its way into the RV. Rowan was beside herself even though Rick had run off after Sophia.

"Let me see that," Eve told T-Dog, grasping his arm and examining the angry cut. Blood was spewing from the wound every time his heart beat and her mind was racing, wishing that she had some sterile gauze pads and antiseptic handy. "We need to clean this to prevent infection…" she mumbled to herself.

Without thinking twice, Eve removed her cotton T-shirt and wrapped it around T-Dog's forearm. She took his other hand made him grip the makeshift bandage, saying "Here, hold this in place and press hard." She led him over to the tailgate of a nearby van. "Sit down and try to keep this arm elevated."

T-Dog nodded as Rowan worriedly paced around in front of the railings where Rick had chased after Rose. "Where are they? Why aren't they back by now?" she asked alarmed as she looked up at the sky, it was turning orange as the sun set further and further down.

"They'll be back soon, sweetheart, you'll see," Carol assured her softly as she rubbed her back trying to soothe her.

Shane looked at Travis. "Why ain't you out there lookin' too man, she's your daughter?!"

Travis ignored him and continued to smoke his joint as everyone watched disgusted, Daryl walked over to where Eve was tending to T-Dog.

"Here, this might help." He said giving her some aspirin pills for T-Dog's cut.

"Andrea, are you OK?" Dale asked the blonde woman anxiously as she stepped down out of the RV trying to stifle her sobs. "Yes," she barely spoke, holding up a hand warning him to keep his distance. "I'm fine…"

Lori cradled Andrea in her arms as Shane and Daryl pulled the dead walker from the Winnebago and tossed it unceremoniously on the side of the road. Moments later Rick emerged from the forest and stepped over the metal highway barrier. Rowan slumped in sorrow as she stepped toward him, her entire posture pleading. "You…didn't find her…?"

Rick swallowed as he looked around the group; everyone's eyes were on him. "I... I had her, but then I lost her again. I told her to run with the sun on her right hand side, I thought she might have ended up back here," he said as he ran his hand through his hair tiredly.

"Well, she didn't, Sheriff," Travis sneered at him as he gestured around; Rick saw no sign of the little girl anywhere.

He sighed heavily as he gave Rowan's arm a reassuring rub. "We'll find her, I promise. I just gotta think this through first."

When Daryl and Rick announced that they were headed back into the woods to search for Rose, Eve piped up "I'll go with you."

"No," Rick said. "Daryl and I can handle it…I need you to stay here so you can – "

"So I can what?" Eve asked him pointedly. "I can't fire my rifle that would attract walkers. I can't help T-Dog without any antibiotics…"

"Why didn't ya say something earlier?" Daryl said impatiently, stepping over to his motorcycle. "Keep your oily rags off my bike," he told Dale, tossing a cloth his way. "Merle's got a whole pharmacy here," he mumbled as he picked up a large Zip-Loc bag. "Crystal, X, Doxycycline…" he tossed a bottle of the last to Eve. "That's the good stuff, the name brand, not a generic. Merle used to get the clap on occasion…"

"That's a bit too much information, baby brother," Merle pointed out, looking embarrassed for once in his life. "Just take the fuckin' pills, Evie."

Eve gave one of the pills to T-Dog who swallowed it down with a bottle of water, before looking back at Rick and Daryl. "Well, I guess if you can handle it, handle it then," she muttered as she went into the RV to check on Rowan, while the two men headed off into the forest, with Shane and Glenn choosing to follow behind them.

"My baby, my sweet baby girl." Rowan sobbed heartbrokenly and Eve hugged her tightly as she cried heavily.

"I want my little girl back, oh god." She sobbed and Eve stroked her hair gently as she saw Carol come in with Sophia and Merle.

"We'll find her Rowan, Rick and Daryl will find her." Eve assured her.

"What if they don't?" Rowan asked sniffling as she wiped at her teary eyes. "What am I supposed to do without her? She's all I have left!"

"You have us," Carol said sadly as Carl and Sophia sat down and looked upset at the fact that their friend was missing. "We won't move from here until you have her back, there's no argument about it," she assured her and Rowan nodded slightly.

* * *

Daryl and Rick searched through the woods as they looked for Rose when they saw a walker blood staining its mouth as it stumbled about.

"Christ, you don't think it ate Rose?" Rick asked Daryl and he grimaced.

"Only one way to find out."

Rick nodded, knowing what he meant, as the two men began to cut open the walker, groaning at the smell and the general situation they were in. Daryl removed the stomach contents, along with other various organs, and looked to see what it had eaten, pulling out a chewed bird, and thankfully nothing else. "Looks like this bastard had himself a woodchuck for lunch," he said as he stood up and they both looked at their clothes in disgust. "I don't know where else we can look," he said as they checked the creek again, the hole where Rick had left Rose still empty.

Everyone slowly stood up as Daryl cleaned off his knife. "At least we know," Rick commented. "At least we know," Daryl affirmed.

The trio returned to the highway where the rest of their group stood waiting. Rowan's anxious face broke Rick's heart as Daryl shook his head and indicated that their search hadn't turned up anything.

"Is that…blood?" she asked, looking at their spattered clothing.

"Took down a walker," Daryl explained.

"It didn't get her, though," Rick quickly reassured Rowan.

"How can you know that?" she asked, her eyes tearing up.

"Cut the son of a bitch open," Daryl said with a shrug, as they climbed over the rail back onto the highway.

"So that's it?" Rowan asked as she looked at Rick with pleading eyes. "You're leaving her out there? You're just giving up?!"

"ROWAN IT'S GETTING DARK AND I AM NOT HAVING MY HUSBAND RISK HIS LIFE FOR YOUR DAUGHTER WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT AN EYE ON HER! YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND GO LOOK FOR HER INSTEAD OF MAKING ALL OF US RISK OUR LIVES FOR A STUPID, UGLY, SELFISH BITCH LIKE YOU!" Lori yelled at her and she slapped Rowan across the face twice.

"Hey back off, she isn't selfish." Eve snapped at her as Daryl walked over to her and stood by her side as they watched Lori.

"Fuck you," Lori snapped before looking back at Rowan who had her hand against her face, and had fresh tears stinging her eyes. Rick stepped forward to stand between them both and glared at Lori.

"Get in the car! I don't wanna hear another word from you," Rick snapped at her as he gave Rowan an apologetic look and they headed off to their vehicle.

Dale watched them both carefully, looking at Travis before back to Rowan. "Why don't you stay in the RV for the night with Andrea and me?"

Rowan nodded and sniffled. "Yes, thank you."

* * *

Everyone nodded as they all headed into their cars to sleep in for the night, Merle got in the back of the truck with Midnight while Daryl and Eve got in the front.

"We'll find her; we've got two of the best trackers and hunters in the world." Eve said as she curled into Daryl and he smiled faintly.

"I know we'll find Rose, I can feel it." He told her and she nodded as she touched his cheek gently and they held each other.

* * *

"Alright, we're all going to look for her," Rick told them as he and Shane handed out weapons while Glenn looked over some maps Dale had found stashed at the back of his RV. "Apart from two, Dale is going to stay here and try and fix the RV, and T-Dog is staying behind until his arm is healed enough to help."

Lori glared at Rowan as she took a handgun from Shane. "Don't see why we need to go."

"Because Rowan would do the same thing for you if it was Carl who was missing," Rick replied, getting tired of his wife's attitude.

They all nodded and headed off to the woods with Midnight at Daryl and Eve's side with Merle in front of them as they all called out for Rose.

Daryl told them to stop when they came upon a tent.

"She could be in there…" Rick said quietly.

"There could be a lot of things in there." Daryl said as he handed Eve his crossbow, she grabbed it as he pulled out a knife from his belt. They watched as he ran silently to the tent and he began to check around it, Daryl looked up at them and Rick looked at the others.

He lifted the tent flap back and peered inside, covering his mouth with his hand. "Ain't nothin in there 'cept a couple of people, who...opted out," he muttered, using Jenner's earlier words.

They all sighed before they heard church bells ringing in the distance and looked at each other confused.

Church bells.

They all looked at each other before racing off after the noise.

"Which way?" Shane asked quickly.

"That way, I'm sure of it." Rick replied as he pointed in a direction.

"If we can hear it, then so can Sophia!" Rowan said hope in her voice.

"Somebody has to be ringing those bells." Glenn said.

"Maybe signalling they found her." Andrea said quietly.

"She could be ringing them herself." Rick said firmly.

They all hurried to the church, a beautiful white church looking out of place, looking around for any signs of Rose. "Do you see anything?" Rick called out as he looked around.

Glenn shook his head. "No Rose... but those bells is on a timer, they went off themselves," he said quietly.

Rick sighed sadly. "Well... She could still be inside, let's have a look and see."

They opened the doors to find five walkers which Rick, Daryl, Merle, Shane and Eve took out as they all sat down and prayed.

Rowan kneeled down in front of the alter and looked up at the crucifix, "Father forgive me, I don't deserve your mercy. I prayed for safe passage from Cherokee Falls and you provided. I prayed for Travis to be punished, for laying his hands on me and my darling, precious daughter, and for looking at his own daughter whatever his twisted mind was. I prayed you'd put a stop to it, to give me a chance to raise her right and help her not make my mistakes, for being a terrible mother. And now Rose's gone and she's so fearful she's not cut out for this world. She's so young and she hasn't had a chance." She prayed her voice cracking with tears.

"Praying for Travis's death was a sin and I was wrong for that. Please don't let this be my punishment. Let her be safe alive and safe, please Lord. Punish me however you find fit but show mercy on her."

She whispered as she saw Daryl and Eve sit down and pray along with Merle, Carol, Sophia, Glenn, Rick and Carl even Shane.

"Please bring my daughter back safely, God, please."

They all got up as Rowan finished her prayer; it was a little unnerving to see the Jesus statue covered in blood. "What do we do now?" Shane asked Rick quietly as they headed outside to where the cemetery was.

"We spilt up and look for her, we'll go into groups." Rick said and they all nodded as they went into groups.

"Daryl… you're in charge." He said. "Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back… search this area another hour or so just to be thorough…"

"You're splitting us up." Daryl said as he shifted from one foot to the other. "You sure?"

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you." Shane nodded.

"I want to stay too." Carl said. "I'm her friend."

Rick looked at Carl and then at Lori who was shaking her head and he sighed. "Alright, but you stay close to me and Shane, you hear?" he asked, and Carl nodded. "Alright, let's move before we lose daylight again."

"Please find my little girl," Rowan begged him.

"We'll try our best," he said as they headed off into the forest.

* * *

Daryl and Merle looked at the others. "Come on, let's move it back to the highway."

They all nodded and Eve walked along with Daryl as they watched the sun slowly go down, it was getting near dusk, she realised.

She looked up at Daryl who shrugged as they continued to walk on. Eve paused when she hard something. "Did you hear that?"

"Gunshot." Daryl said quickly.

"Walker?" Glenn asked.

Lori shook her head. "Rick wouldn't waste a bullet."


	7. Old Friends

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 7

* * *

"Maybe they ran into some trouble," Carol said quietly as she held Sophia's hand tightly, scared to loosen her grip.

"Let's just get back before it's dark and we end up in trouble too," Merle said annoyed.

Noticing Rowan's disappointed look, he turned to her. "We'll find her tomorrow." The group continued to walk back through the forest towards the highway. It wasn't until they heard Andrea's terrified screams that they all froze.

She had apparently ventured off track somewhere, because she was nowhere to be seen, and it was like a race to try and find her. Eventually they found the blonde woman lying on the forest floor, a walker hovering over the top of her

"Andrea?" Lori cried out.

They ran to the source of her voice, Eve gripped her sword tightly as she sprinted ahead of them, the muscles of her legs were burning, she stopped when she saw woman on a horse wielding a bat, she smashed the walker in the head and Eve quickly ran to stab it through the face as she helped Andrea up.

"Lori?" The woman said urgently. "Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori." Lori said as she ran forward.

"Rick sent me you gotta come now!"

"What?" Lori said, sounding confused.

Eve recognised the young woman instantly; she was family to her, Daryl, Merle, Carol and Sophia.

Maggie Greene.

"Maggie?"

Maggie turned to look at her. "Eve... how...?" she looked confused before turning back to Lori. "Look, Rick sent me; your boy's been shot. You gotta come with me to the farm," she said, and without even thinking about it, Lori had climbed up on the horse behind her. "Your husband said you had others..." she said before looking at Eve and Carol. "Bring them back to the farm, y'all know where it is," she added, before riding off at full speed.

"Was that Maggie?" Daryl asked and Eve nodded as they hurried back to the highway where Dale and T-Dog were waiting with Midnight.

"What's wrong?" Dale asked alarmed at seeing their panicked faces.

"Carl's been shot."

"Is he dead?" Dale asked, fearing the worst.

Carol shook her head. "He's at my brothers farm, we need to go there now," she said quickly.

"What about Rose?" Rowan asked looking pale and tired. "What if she comes back here?"

"Maybe some of us should stay the night?" Andrea suggested. "And the rest go to the farm. T-Dog really needs that arm looked at."

"I'll stay." Daryl said and Merle nodded in agreement as Eve looked at Carol.

"I'll stay too, you, Sophia, T-Dog and Glenn go to the farm." She told her and she nodded as they got into the cars and drove off as they watched on.

"I hope to god, Carl's alright." Rowan said as she clutched her rosary beads and they all nodded in agreement.

"He'll be fine," Dale said positively. "Both he and Rose will be alright. Two toughest kids I ever met," he said with a fond smile as he went to the top of the RV to take watch.

"I'm gonna go search the woods." Daryl said and Eve nodded as she grabbed her machete and they headed into the forest to search for Rose.

* * *

"I hope she's alright, this is killing Rowan." She said quietly and Daryl nodded in agreement as they continued to search.

"She's a tough kid, like her mama, we'll find her." He assured her.

"Yeah, I hope so," she said as they took down all of the walkers and looked for the missing little girl.

They then heard growling and rasping and looked up to see a walker had been hanged on a tree with a note on its chest.

_"Got bit, fever hit."_

_"World gone to shit."_

"Dumbass didn't shoot himself in the head." Daryl said dryly.

Eve smiled at that as she looked at him and he gave her a soft smile in return as he shot an arrow at the walker.

The walker went limp as they watched and they headed back to the highway where they saw Dale, Rowan and Merle look up..

"Did you find her?" Rowan asked hope in her voice, her green eyes looked grief ridden and her red curls were a mess.

"No, I'm so sorry Rowan." Daryl told his best friend and she nodded sadly as she went back into the RV while Travis continued to smoke.

"C'mon let's get some rest." Eve said softly and Daryl nodded as they got inside the truck and curled up against each other.

* * *

Merle sat with Dale atop the RV, keeping an eye out for anything that looked out of place, hearing Rowan's quiet sobs from the RV underneath them. "Maybe tomorrow, eh?"

"We'll find her; I just can't believe Travis is acting like this." Dale said sighing.

"He's always been like that." Merle said quietly.

"Poor Rowan must have had an awful life," he said as he shook his head. "I can't imagine what she's been through with him, she's a strong woman and I really admire her," he said softly.

"She's a good woman, I just wish Daryl and Eve would tell each other they loved each other." Merle said sighing as they continued to keep watch.

* * *

The next morning it was decided they would meet the others at the farm after Daryl and Eve wrote a message for Rose and some supplies as they drove to the Greene farm.

Once they pulled up, Eve noticed a blonde girl run straight for her and embrace her in a tight hug. Beth. "Evie!" she said delighted. "I'm so glad you're here," she smiled at her and the rest of the people who had turned up. "Aunt Carol told me you were coming. Mom and Shawn didn't make it," she added sadly. "And we're just about to have a funeral for Otis; he would have liked you there."

"Otis?" Eve asked sadly. She had liked the man who used to always come and visit her Uncle Hershel. "What happened to him?"

"He went to get medical supplies with Shane, they got overrun and Otis told him to gon and that he'd keep them occupied." Beth said sadly and Eve, Daryl and Merle sighed.

"I'm glad you, Merle and Daryl are alright though, daddy will be happy seeing you three along with Rowan." She added and they all smiled as they hugged her tightly.

"How's Carl?" Eve asked Carol.

"He's recovering," she said with a faint smile. "Hershel managed to perform the operation on him and get the bullet fragments out. Still no sign of Rose?"

Merle shook his head as Rowan stayed silent. "No, nothing, we left a note and some supplies incase she goes back to the highway."

Beth nodded as she showed them to where the rest of their group was with Andrea and Lori arguing over something.

"Oh thank god you four are alright." Carol said hugging them tightly and Eve smiled at her along with Daryl as they all planned to search for Rose.

"Uncle Hershel." Eve said happily and Daryl smiled as they said hello to the man who had been like a second father to him and Merle.

"Hello," Hershel said with a faint smile as he sat down at his table looking exhausted. After what had happened to Otis, trying to save Carl, and hearing about Rowan's daughter going missing, he was finding it hard to be cheery.

Rick came in also looking pale and tired and gave Rowan a small smile. "Any luck?"

Rowan shook her head. "Not yet, but I'm going out looking for her in a minute. How's Carl?"

"He's fine thanks to Hershel, Shane and Otis." He said as he sat down next to them and they all nodded as they placed a map on the table and started to look around.

"Where are you going?" Hershel asked.

"Gotta get out there and look for Rose," Rick replied.

"You're in no condition to be out anywhere," Hershel told him.

"Just how much blood have you given in the last 24 hours?" Rowan asked, noting the black circles under Rick's sunken eyes.

"Too much," Hershel responded before Rick could speak. "Son, what you need to do is rest. Your body can't stand this much abuse much longer."

Rick was quiet and considered Hershel's statement. "Alright, can I at least organize the search? Gather the others together and plot this thing out on the map?"

"As long as you're not on your feet and out in that sun too long," Hershel acquiesced.

Rick nodded as they headed out to gather some maps. Rowan rubbed his arm gently. "Thank you.. for what you're doing for me, I appreciate it," she said with a small smile, which Rick returned.

He pulled out the maps and started to look at them. "Alright, if we split up and each take a grid, take a rag or something to mark the trees, make sure you know you've searched that area."

"I want to help search, too," a new voice piped up. Heads turned to find Jimmy, Beth's beau, standing nearby. "We appreciate that," Rick nodded, "But I'll have to check with Hershel first, get his OK."

"He already told me it was OK with him," Jimmy reassured the man.

"He can come with my group," Andrea offered.

"I'm going to borrow a horse and head up to this ridge right here," Daryl stated, circling a spot on the map with his index finger. "Get a bird's eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there I'll spot her."

"Good idea," T-Dog agreed. "Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there, too."

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked."

"You never heard that story?" Dale asked. "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that this whole thing reminds him of the time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra."

Jimmy snorted with laughter.

"What're you braying at, jackass?" Daryl challenged him.

"So, you believe in a bloodsucking dog?" Jimmy asked with a smirk.

"You believe in dead people walking around?" Daryl retorted as he turned and stomped off toward the stable.

Rick watched him go with a raised eyebrow. "Alright then, it's settled. Rowan and Merle, you two go North, T-Dog and Andrea,, you take Jimmy and go east. Carol and Dale are going to go south and Eve and Shane, you two go west," he instructed. "I'll stay here and take watch, keep an eye out on top of the RV incase we see anything."

They all nodded and split up with Eve making sure she had her machete and gun before hugging Hershel, Maggie, Beth, Carol and Sophia good bye before leaving.

"We'll go to that estate." Shane told her and she nodded.

* * *

They both got into Shane's car and started to drive down the old deserted road that led to the gated community near her Uncle Hershel's farm. She remembered going with Maggie and Beth when they were younger, she would have played with her friends that lived there.

Eve fiddled with the gun in her lap before looking at Shane. "So what's the deal with you and Lori? You love her? Or is it just sex?"

"I love her, I've loved her for years and we've been with each other since she started getting bored of Rick." He said as they pulled up outside the gate and looked around.

"Rick's going to find out and he won't be happy, Carl knows." She pointed out and he simply shrugged as they called out for Rose.

"Rose, Rose." She called out as they checked the houses.

"There's nothing here except decaying bodies," Shane said as he used his arm to cover his nose and mouth, trying to block the foul stench,

"Maybe she's hiding somewhere," Eve suggested. "Try the wardrobes, cupboards, that sort of thing," she said, as they looked in all the small spaces.

They looked around and Eve couldn't see Rose anywhere, she sighed heavily and hoped Daryl was having more luck because they were running out of hope.

"She's not here." Shane said as they saw a herd of walkers stumbling towards them and froze before hurrying to the car.

They shot at the walkers who were closing in on them and got into Shane's car, before pulling away from the estate and back down the highway.

"Well that was a waste of time." Shane said annoyed.

* * *

Daryl had found a trail belonging to Rose when he saw footprints, he followed them and his mind drifted to Eve.

She was different from the women he'd met; she wasn't only interested in him for sex, they were best friends and he longed to tell her how much he loved her.

She was beautiful, smart and kind; sure she'd had a rough past, but... What the hell would she want with someone like him?

"Come on, Daryl, man up," he muttered to himself as he trekked through the forest.

Nelly heard a noise and jumped slightly, backing up a few steps. "Easy girl," Daryl soothed, eventually getting her to move forward again. Something caught his eye and he stopped the horse to check it out. He got off Nelly and walked over to the object, squinting when he got closer... Rose's teddy bear, At least now he was on her trail. He picked it up, shaking off some of the dirt that had settled on top of it, before hooking it onto his belt and getting back on the horse.

He shot another arrow through a squirrel sitting on a tree, adding it to the small collection he had already made. "ROSE!" he called out... If she was anywhere around, surely she would have heard him. There was a hissing noise that came out of nowhere and Nelly immediately started to panic. Most likely a snake had crossed their path. "Whoa, whoa," Daryl tried to calm the horse down, but the next thing he knew, the horse threw him into the air, and he landed hard on the ground, before he found himself tumbling downwards towards the water.

He was just about to drag the deer when something ran into him and made him fall into a creek, bashing his head against the ground.

Darkness crept into his vision.

* * *

When Daryl's eyes cracked open again, he felt a shooting pain in his side. He looked down to see that he had landed on one of his arrows and it had pierced him, his blood spilling out into the water. "Son of a bitch," he coughed, staggering to his feet and looking around. How was he going to get himself out of this mess?

He tore the sleeves of his light brown shirt and wrapped it around his stomach to keep the bleeding minimal, like in his army days as he heaved himself as a walker came at him.

"Fuck," Daryl mumbled, as he looked around in the water for his crossbow. He picked up a branch and searched around for it, before the branch connected with something hard, and he placed his hands into the water to pick up his beloved weapon. He raised it with little time to spare and fired an arrow at the walker's head, seconds before he would have been a walker dinner.

Daryl groaned as he placed a hand on his side and staggered up, using a branch as a walking aid, and realizing with alarm Nelly had ran off, and he was going to need to walk back to the farm. Fucking great.

"It's getting dark now, shouldn't Daryl be back?" Beth asked worriedly.

"Maybe he's onto somethin' big," Merle said with a reassuring smile. "Sometimes his hunting trips can have him away days at a time."

The words did nothing to settle the unease Eve was feeling in her stomach.

Sophia looked worried "I hope he's ok." She said.

"WALKER, WALKER!" Andrea yelled as she stood up to shoot the walker.

Eve looked carefully at the walker, it looked familiar...

Oh no.

"Andrea no!" She screamed as Andrea fired at Daryl.

"DARYL!" Eve yelled, running over to where he lay on the ground. "No.. no.. Daryl?!"

"Fuckin' bitch shot me," Daryl choked out as his eyes fluttered shut.

"Damn it Daryl." Eve said relived that he wasn't bit. She tried to get him up but struggled seeing as he was heavier and stronger than her.

Rick, Shane and Glenn rushed over to help take him inside where Hershel was going to try and stitch up his wounds. "What happened?" Rick asked.

"Andrea shot him, apparently she's deaf," Eve said flatly. "But he has a wound in his side too, I don't know what happened there."

T-Dog pulled something off Daryl's belt and held it up. "Hey guys? Isn't this Rose's teddy bear?"

Rowan let out a sob as she looked at the bear; it looked a little battered now. "Oh god, my baby," she choked out as she took the teddy from him.

She held it tightly in her hands before she hurried into the RV as everyone watched sadly and Eve helped Daryl into the house along with Merle who helped out.

"What happened?" Hershel asked as they took Daryl into one of the guest bedrooms and lay him down on the bed where Eve took off his shirt and winced when she saw his wound.

"Got shot with an arrow and Nelly threw me off." Daryl said as Eve started to bathe his wound gently and Hershel stitched him up.

"We call her Nervous Nelly."

"And we could have told you that if you had asked to borrow her first instead of just running off with her," Hershel added as he pressed a little more forcefully on the wound than he needed to.

Daryl winced and sighed. "Sorry," he said sheepishly as he relaxed against the soft pillow.

"Where did you find that teddy bear?" Rick asked him from where he was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room.

"Found it in the creek, looked like she'd been there for a couple of days." He said and they all nodded as he showed where he had found the bear on the map and they all left aside from Eve who sat next to him.

"You scared me." She told him quietly as she washed the blood off his face.

"Don' need to be scared, arrow wound and a bullet ain't gonna kill me," he said with a small chuckle as he pulled the covers up around himself and adjusted the bandage on his head. "Nothin' gonna kill a Dixon but a Dixon."

* * *

Rick knocked gently on the RV door before going in to where Rowan was curled up in a ball on her seat. "Hey... we're going to go out tomorrow and check where Daryl found the bear, see if we can see anything else," Rick said softly.

"Ok, thank you for everything." She said clutching Rose's teddy bear tightly in her hands as tears flowed down her face.

"My baby's gone." She said slumping against the seat and looked at Rick, "A mother knows when her baby's gone and I just want my little girl back." She sobbed.

Rick walked over and sat down beside her as he hugged her tightly.

"We'll find her, don't worry." He promised.

Rowan buried her face into his shoulder and sniffled. "Come on, why don't you come inside, Carol and Patricia have made some dinner for everyone," Rick said softly. "You could do with something to eat, even if it's just a little," he said as he stood up and offered his hand.

She nodded and took his hand shakily as they headed into the house, unaware of the tragedies that would happen tomorrow.


	8. The Barn From Hell

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 8

* * *

"So what are we doing today, Rick?" Glenn asked as he stood outside with the rest of the group, once again looking at some more maps.

"Well, we're going to go into teams again and split up, we can check around the area where Daryl found the bear and head along the creek, see if there's anything around there," Rick said as his fingers traced circles on the maps. "We could check out the surrounding farmhouses, and maybe a couple of us could head back to the highway, see if anyone is there, or any of the supplies have been used."

Andrea jogged over and looked at Rick. "Hershel wants to talk to you today," she told him. "Says he needs your help with something."

Rick nodded and went to where Hershel was as Lori walked over to where Eve was folding up her, Daryl and Merle's clothes with Beth.

"I need you to get something foe me in town." She told her and Eve arched her eyebrows as her grey eyes glanced at Lori.

"What do you want?" She asked not really caring.

"I need the morning after pill and a pregnancy test." She said flatly and Eve's stomach dropped in horror.

Oh shit.

"Fine, just let me tell Daryl where I'm going." She said and Lori nodded curtly as she watched Eve go into the tent she shared with Daryl.

Eve grabbed her knife and her gun, along with a few flying stars she had picked up and attached them all onto her belt. "I'm going to the pharmacy in town, there's some things I need to pick up," she told him and he nodded as he worked on cleaning his arrows, his body too stiff and sore to do anything else.

"Alright, ya be careful." He told her and she nodded as she headed outside where Maggie and Glenn were waiting as they rode their three horses to the town.

"So you and Daryl, have you told him about how you love him?" Maggie asked her cousin and Eve sighed sadly.

"I want to but I'm scared." She admitted.

"He does too," Maggie pointed out.

Eve shrugged. "Things are fine the way they are," she said as they rode to pick up the things they needed, including Lori's pregnancy test. That wouldn't go well.

* * *

Rick couldn't believe he was holding onto what could only be described as a walker on a leash, as he, Hershel and Jimmy struggled to try and get them out of the swamp, so they could take them to the barn. "Remind me why we're doing this?" Rick muttered.

"Because it's my farm, my rules," Hershel said firmly. "And we don't kill, someday there might be a cure and we can get our friends and family back."

"Hershel, we went to the CDC and they didn't even know what this is and they remember us, all they want to do is eat us." He said as he managed to pull the walker out of the mud and they started to walk back to the house.

"My wife and step son are one of them, Eve and Daryl consider Annette and Shawn as family and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure they come back to us." He said firmly.

Rick sighed heavily; he had a lot on his mind.

"They're not who they used to be anymore," Rick said quietly as he felt the walker tugging on the pole he had it on, and tried to get it to follow behind him properly, this was harder than he thought it would be. Hershel seemed to be much better at this, obviously having had more practice.

"What happens if the barn gets full?" Rick's question went unanswered as Jimmy suddenly fell to the ground, the walker he was holding onto getting the upper hand over him. Hershel helped him upright and took the walker back, noticing Rick too was having problems.

"Lead him Rick," he instructed, as they headed out of the forest and back towards the barn. You're the carrot, not the stick."

"This is easy?" Rick asked incredulously.

"It's easier than some things," Hershel said with a shrug.

Rick sighed and continued on as he had a bad feeling that this was going to blow up in their faces.

* * *

Glenn, Maggie and Eve had reached the town and were now gathering all of the supplies, Eve grabbed the morning after pills for Lori and some prenatal vitamins for her as well along with a pregnancy test when she heard screaming and ran over to the counter to see a walker had grabbed Maggie.

Glenn hurried over and bashed its head in.

Maggie was sobbing as she cuddled into Glenn, burying her face into his shirt. Eve guessed there was something going on there then. "Daddy thought they could be cured..." she choked out, as Glenn gently stroked her hair."He thought they were still people, and could go back to how they were before," she sniffled as they went outside with their supplies and got back onto the horses. "Those things aren't people anymore, they aren't coming back."

"I'm so sorry Maggs." Eve said pained as she hugged her cousin and they headed back to the barn where they all saw Shane and Travis arguing with Rick, Rowan, Daryl and Lori was by Shane.

"We're closing in on this girl; I just found her damned doll a few days ago!"

Eve walked quickly over to see what had gotten him so agitated. Shane's condescending tone immediately made her skin crawl.

"That's all you found, Daryl, that's what you did, you found a doll."

"Man, you don't know what the hell you're – "

"If Rose was alive out there and saw you comin', all methed out with your Buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she'd run in the other direction!"

Daryl attempted to pounce on Shane, but Rick stepped in between the two men as they kept shouting at one another.

"This isn't going to resolve anything!" Rick said as he glared at them both and pushed them back to their own side.

Shane looked at Rick and then noticed the walkers Hershel and Jimmy had with them. "Man, what the hell? Why are you bringing these things onto the farm? They're dead, ain't anything a fucking vet can do to save them!"

"This isn't our property!" Rick snapped back. "So we don't go around doing whatever we want!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF FOLLOWING YOUR ORDERS RICK, LORI'S CARRYING MY BABY AND WE'RE GETTING RID OF THESE WALKERS!" Shane yelled.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel called to Rick.

"Shane, just stay back, hold on," Rick kept trying to calm his friend down.

"No Rick, I'm not gonna hold on, you're the one who's holdin' on – to a fantasy." Shane walked up to one of the leashed walkers. "Lemme ask you, Hershel, could a real live person survive this?" He fired two gunshots into the being. "That's two shots to the heart and lungs and it's still up and moving. Real people cannot live through this," and he emptied three more rounds into the geek before finally finishing it off with a head shot. "These ain't people, old man, these are killers."

"Shane!" Lori's voice could be heard in the background.

"Hershel, take the snare pole!" Rick called, holding the lead out to old vet. "Hershel!" Rick yelled, trying to get the man's attention. Hershel stood as if in a coma, watching as Shane grabbed a pickaxe and ran to the barn door.

"Things ain't like they used to be, Rick!" he hollered as he bashed away at the padlock. "We can't exist next to a barnful of things that's tryin' to kill us! We've got to do what's necessary to live!" He pivoted and put a bullet through the head of the walker Rick was trying to control. Rick dropped the pole and kept calling out to Shane, trying to get him to stop. One final whack with the pick and one of chains fell off the door. It opened up about six inches and a walker clad in tattered overalls started shuffling out.

Daryl ran to Eve's side along with Merle and Beth as both Dixon brothers refused to partake in the shooting, they had known Hershel for years.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the walkers started spilling out of the barn. Glenn, Shane, Andrea, T-Dog and Rick were firing shots as the seemingly never ending stream of walkers poured out towards them, all of them groaning with their arms outstretched trying to get to their next meal. Beth seen Shawn and Annette stumble out of the barn, before Glenn shot at them both, much to Maggie's horror, and Beth tried to take off towards them, before she felt Merle's arm snake around her waist and grip her tightly, as he tried to block her view. The walkers shuffled out as Hershel watched in horror, dropping to his knees, and burying his face into his hands, as his friends and family were slaughtered.

Beth managed to break out of his grip and ran to her mother. But her mother obviously wasn't completely dead and reached up to grab her, only for Andrea to step in and put a pick axe through her head, as Beth started to sob over the body.

Once they thought the stream of walkers was over, they heard another soft shuffling noise, and everyone turned to look up at the barn door. Rowan felt her whole world shatter to pieces as she registered the sight in front of her.

They all stared at the door with looks of confusion and dread on their faces. A scrawny sneaker-clad ankle emerged into the daylight. There was an audible gasp among the group when a familiar rainbow T-shirt started staggering toward them. Eve heard someone murmur, "Oh, no" and then Rowan began calling out, "Rose!" hysterically as she ran toward her daughter.

"ROSE, ROSE, NO, NO!" She screamed as she ran to her daughter and then felt Daryl and Eve grab her and pull her into them along with Midnight who whined softly, Carol hugged Sophia and Carl tightly as Rowan wailed for Rose.

"Rose, my baby, my little girl."

"I'm so, so sorry," Rick said pained as he walked towards Rose and took out his gun, he turned his head away and fired a shot as Rose's boy collapsed into a heap with all of the others, while Rowan's anguished sobs filled the otherwise silent air. She broke away from everyone and took off in a run into the RV. Everyone stared in shock at what had just happened, as Jimmy began to cover up the bodies.

Hershel finally pulled himself together and stormed off towards the house, taking Maggie, Beth and Patricia with him, mumbling something about how the rest of the group were no longer welcome here, even although Shane tried to justify his actions.

* * *

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, YOU KNEW SHE WAS IN THERE!" Travis yelled at Hershel as he ran towards the man only to be slapped by Eve.

"Don't you dare touch him, haven't you done enough?" She asked furious as Daryl took her hand and they headed into the RV where Rowan was with Carl, Dale, Carol and Sophia.

"I'm so sorry Rowan, we did try." Daryl told her and she nodded tearfully.

"I know you all did, I know." She said as tears slid down her face.

* * *

"Can I talk to you?" Eve asked Daryl, she needed to tell him how she felt about him before it was too late.

Daryl nodded as they left a heartbroken Rowan in the RV and headed outside. He looked defeated; he had truly thought that they would find Rose alive and well. "What is it? Make it quick, we got funerals to go to."

"I know you'll think that I'm making it up but I'm not, I love you Daryl." She said bracing herself and he looked at her in shock with another emotion.

"Ya love me?" He asked quietly.

She nodded. "Yeah."

Daryl didn't know how to react, no one had ever said that to him, and he loved her, he really did, but he didn't want things to get confusing. "Uh... Right," he mumbled quietly as he looked at his hands. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't force the words out of his mouth; this wasn't how he had planned it. "We should go, bury those bodies," he said as he started to move over to where Andrea and Jimmy were digging holes.

Eve watched him go, feeling her eyes burn with tears of sorrow and heartbreak as she ran inside the house to check on Maggie and Beth.

She sat down and cried, she didn't want to live in this, cold, dark unfeeling world anymore and when they had readied the graves for burial she headed outside and stood beside Carol and Sophia with Rowan no where in sight.

Her heart was broken, the man she loved didn't love her and to be honest she just wanted to get away for a while.

* * *

Carol cooked dinner in the kitchen with Patricia, who was just starting to look a little better after news of Otis' death. "Where's my brother?" she asked quietly.

"He went to town, probably to the bar, Maggie thinks," she explained as she cut up some carrots. "Two of your men went to go and get him, Rick and the Asian boy who's friendly with Maggie. Hopefully he's not too far gone. How is the woman who lost her daughter?"

"Rowan?" Carol asked sadly. "She's not doing very well at all; she didn't even come to the funeral today."

"I'm so sorry Carol." Patricia said sadly as they all saw Daryl hurry in quickly, he looked tired and there was pain in his eyes.

"Has anyone seen Eve?" He asked quickly as he looked around and everyone shook their heads when Rowan came in looking pale and exhausted.

"She left a while go, Shane, Andrea and Lori were yelling at her and she said she had enough and that she had nothing left to lose, I think she's gone to the summer house where we used to hang out." She told Daryl and he quickly nodded and hurried out of the house.

"How are you, Rowan?" Carol asked softly; glad to see her out of the RV. "Do you want something to eat? You should try something small at least," she said as she helped Rowan to sit down at the table.

"I'm alright," she said sniffling. "I knew that wasn't my little girl anymore. I had a feeling I had already lost her," she said quietly. "A mother just knows, you know?"

"I know honey, we're all so sorry." She said taking Rowan's hand gently as they saw Carl and Sophia come in looking upset with Midnight beside them.

"I'm so sorry Rowan about Rose, I could have saved her." He said sniffling and Rowan hugged him and Sophia tightly.

"Oh I know you would have, I don't blame either of you or Daryl, Merle and Rick." She assured him.

"Where's Travis?" Carol asked her quietly as she sat down next to her; she doubted the man even had much interest in what happened his daughter.

Rowan shrugged slightly. "I don't know I haven't seen him since the barn earlier on."

Carol nodded in understanding and hugged her tightly too. "We're your family now; we'll help get you through this."

"Thank you, that means a lot to me." Rowan said wiping her eyes as she saw Beth come in with Merle and they hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry Rowan; I didn't know she was in the barn." Beth sobbed and Rowan hugged her tightly as Merle watched on softly.

"It wasn't your fault or Hershel's." She said weakly.

* * *

Eve opened the bottle of whisky she had brought to the summer house with her and locked all the doors, shutting the curtains too. "Who needs family?" she asked herself with a humourless laugh as she took a long drink from the bottle, feeling the burn as it washed down her throat.

"We're all going to die eventually, I've already lost everyone I care about, the man I love doesn't love me and I just want it to end." She said feeling tears slide down her face as she headed upstairs and took out her machete as she sat down on the bed and took out a photo of her and Daryl when they were twenty years old.

"I love you, even though you don't love me." She said thickly and looked at her wrists as she started to slash at them.

She watched as the blood ran down her arms and her hands as it dripped down and stained the sheets on the bed. She felt a little lightheaded with the blood loss and sighed sadly as she sat back on the bed. She was going back to the only two people who had ever loved her. "Mom, dad, I'm coming," she said as her eyes fluttered closed.

Daryl walked through the woods as he followed Eve's footprints that led to the summer house and soon found the house with only three walkers around.

He took care of them by shooting his arrows at them and took them out as he headed inside the house and saw her jacket on the floor.

He kicked the locked doors down, looking for any sign of her anywhere, his feet stepping on broken glass, he seen an empty whisky bottle on the floor. "Fuck," he cursed, before he lit a candle that he found and searched around the rooms, nothing. He sighed and went to the stairs, going up to look in the bedrooms.

He looked in the first one and didn't find anything as he looked in the other rooms and sighed heavily when he saw Eve's bedroom.

"Evie?" He called out quietly as he kicked open the door and froze.

Eve was slumped against the pillows, her long blonde hair looked limp and her grey eyes looked blank and glassy.

"Eve, darlin'." He said running over.

"Aw shit," Daryl said when he noticed her wrists and the blood pool that had started to form around her. "No, no, no," he panicked as he pulled out his rag and ripped it in two, tying a piece around each of her wrists, before picking up her lifeless body and throwing her over his shoulder to take back to the farm.

* * *

Glenn, Rick and Hershel had pulled up a couple of hours later after they had gone to the bar, and everyone rushed to greet them.

T-Dog smiled and looked into the back of the car, frowning when he seen an extra body. "Who the hell is that?"

"That's our hostage," Rick muttered as he looked at Hershel. "Can you and Patricia perform the surgery?"

Hershel climbed out of the car, "Patricia, prepare the shed for surgery." He said before running to the house to check on Beth.

Lori looked into the back of the car, "Who's that?"

"That's our hostage." Rick said nonchalantly.

Shane looked at him quickly as Merle spoke. "What the hell do ya mean our hostage?" He asked as they all headed into the dining room with Shane taking Lori's hand in his as Rick and Carl saw them and glared.

"We ran into a bit of trouble at the bar," Rick explained quietly as they all went inside. Beth was with Merle, and Maggie with Glenn. "Some men shot at us, and we had to shoot back. This was one of their group, he got impaled on a fence. We let him go and brought him back so we can question him on who his group was."

"Where are Daryl and Eve?" Hershel asked quickly as he came into the dining room when they heard Patricia cry out and they all hurried outside to see Daryl carrying Eve in his arms, her wrists were slashed to pieces.

"EVE!" Carol cried out.

"EVIE!" Beth sobbed horrified.

They heard Sophia sobbing, and even Lori seemed to be compassionate for once as she placed a hand on her shoulder, taking her and Carl inside. "Don't look sweetie."

"What happened?" Rick asked as he ran to help Daryl carry her inside, where they laid her down in the spare bedroom.

"I don't know," Daryl said pained. "I found her like this."

"She's in shock, Eve can you hear me?" Hershel asked his niece gently and she didn't answer as her eyes looked blankly at them.

"Daryl, you stay with you, she needs you." He said softly and Daryl nodded as he took Eve's hand tightly in his and Patricia set up an IV drip.

"What did you say to her?" Maggie asked him.

Daryl shook his head. "I didn't say anything," he said quietly, before his voice dropped to a whisper. "She told me she loved me, and... I didn't say anything."

Merle's eyes snapped to his, "Baby brother, ya are a fuckin' asshole," he mumbled, as Hershel unwrapped the rags around her wrists.

"Bethie, bring me my medical stuff."

Beth nodded and quickly hurried out of the room with Maggie at her side as they went to get Hershel's medical bag when Carol sat down next to them.

"Eve loves you, she always has." She told Daryl and he nodded sadly as he stroked her soft, right cheek and sighed.

"I know and I love her too, I just froze." He said sighing.

"Oh my god, what happened?" Rowan asked shocked.

"Daryl happened, that's what," Merle said as he glared at his brother, and sat down beside the girl he considered to be his sister.

"We've more important issues than this," Travis said as he paced around outside the room. "That kid's group are probably gonna come looking for him and kill fuckin' all of us..."

"Eve is more important than some fucked up group, Travis." Rowan said calmly and they all stared at her in shock.

"Why don't we all get some rest?" Rick said not wanting another fight when Travis spoke to him and sneered.

"You know your wife slept with me? Yeah that's right she slept with me and your best friend before you came to the group and I might be that baby's dad." He smirked.

Rick took in the information and shook his head. "You know what? I don't even care if you are, I want nothing more to do with her or that baby," he snapped before he took Carl's hand and pulled him out of the room.

He looked back at Rowan and hesitated a moment. "Would you like to stay with Carl and I for the night?"

"If that's alright with you two." She said feeling startled and Rick took her hand as they headed out of the house as everyone watched on.

"How's Evie, Daryl?" Beth asked softly and Daryl sighed sadly, he should have told Eve how he felt about her.

"Not good, she ain't woke up or said anythin'." He said upset.

"Give her time," Hershel assured them. "She had a bad day, to put it one way. Things just piled up. Let her rest," he told them. "She'll come around soon."

* * *

Rowan was looking through Rose's things when she saw Rick come in and sit down next to her; he looked tired and fed up.

"Are you alright?" She asked him softly.

"I'm fine." He said giving her a small smile.

"Brought some wine," he said as he sat down and took a long gulp. "Thought we might need it after the day we've had."

Rowan nodded and sat next to him, "I'm sorry... about Travis and Lori. I didn't know."

"It's fine, things haven't been right between us for a long time." He said sighing and she gave him a sad smile.

"We've all been through some hell." She said sadly as she touched her necklace.

Rick nodded as he looked out the window. "That's true. Things can only get better though, right?"

Rowan gave him a faint smile. "I hope so."

He nodded and looked at his wedding ring before taking it off and throwing it out of the window.


	9. Come Home

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 9

* * *

Rowan woke up early the next morning, her head was hurting like hell, and she squinted as the sunlight came in the windows. She noticed the empty wine bottles on the floor and seen Rick next to her, the color drained from her face. "Oh no..."

She had slept with Rick, she felt her stomach drop but at the same time felt content as she curled into him and felt him wrap his arms around her tightly.

Maybe she could be happy.

She heard Rick sigh and panicked that he was awake or thought he was in bed with Lori, but relaxed when she felt him pull her closer and say her name. At least he knew who he was with. "Go back to sleep Rowan. It's still early," he whispered.

* * *

Daryl watched Eve sleep on the bed with her light blue eyes staring blankly at him as he took her soft hand in his and saw scars on her arms, he knew that she had struggled with her demons but he wished he had the balls to tell her he loved her.

"I love ya, I fucked up yesterday Evie, please give me a chance." He said kissing her cheek.

He heard a slight knock on the door and looked up to see Merle standing with a try in his hands. "Beth said I should bring her some food," he said as he sat down beside the bed. "Rick wants ya to question our prisoner today."

"I'll do it later; I'm more worried about my woman than that asshole." Daryl said taking Eve's hand tightly in his.

"She'll forgive ya, but I swear to god if ya hurt her, I'll kick yer ass." Merle warned him.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, I know ya will, Merle, I know ya will."

* * *

Rick sat next to Carl as they watched Rowan tidy up Rose's grave and place fresh flowers on it as they watched her mourn her daughter.

"Will she be ok?" Carl asked quietly.

Rick looked at them both. "I think she's finally accepted Rose has passed on," he said softly as he ruffled Carl's hair. "I think she will. We're just going to be there for her, she's one of us, alright?"

Carl nodded. "I'm glad dad. You two would make each other happy."

Rick gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I think you're right son. We would."

Lori saw Rick watching Rowan and felt rage go through her, he was her husband not hers as she stormed towards them.

"Where were you last night?" She asked Rick coldly as she saw Carl stand next to his father and glare at her.

"I was in the RV with Carl." Rick said calmly.

Carl nodded, ready to back up his father. "Yeah, me and dad played a card game before we fell asleep," Carl lied, knowing where his father had been, but happy that he had been. "I was upset after what happened to Rose. And then he promised he would take me to her grave this morning, and that's why we're here now," he said as he wiped his eyes to make it more believable. Rick watched surprised, damn he loved his son.

"Well at least you weren't with that whore then, she's no use to this group." Lori snapped and then saw Rick wasn't wearing his wedding ring.

"Why aren't you wearing your wedding ring?" She asked calmly.

"Because we're no longer married, you didn't care about it when you took yours off when you were at the quarry fucking Shane." Rick said coldly.

Lori looked startled as she looked down at her hand and then back up at Rick. "Oh, and let's not forget about Travis too," Rick added as he took Carl's hand and took him back towards the house. "You aren't no wife of mine anymore Lori, I'd rather not share my woman with half the group," he said with a shrug and Carl grinned at him, proud of what he had done.

* * *

Daryl had gone to question Randall when Carol and Beth had assured him that they would look after Eve and he felt his heart break at the way Eve was in, it was all of his fault.

He pushed the barn door open and looked down at the boy who was chained up to the wall. "We're gonna have a little talk."

Daryl paced the barn like a caged tiger his steely blue eyes staring at Randall sitting on an old wooden chair beaten badly. Get information Rick had told Daryl and he had agreed to the job no one threatens his family. Anger spewed out of Daryl and his fist made contact with Randall's face a sickening crack of bone was heard as Randall hit the floor. Daryl landed another punch and then another, this time harder.

Daryl felt his fists starting to hurt but he didn't care this boy was going to give up his secrets.

Randall spat out some blood on the dirty barn floor. "I told you."

He whimpered his eyes were swollen and his nose was spewing blood it felt like it'd been severely broken.

Daryl turned around, fire blazing in his eyes as he kicked Randall, knocking the air out of him. "Ya ain't told me shit," he growled menacingly as he crouched down beside him. "And I'm havin' a real bad day, so I suggest ya start fuckin' talking!"

Randall swallowed nervously as he tried to back away from Daryl. "I didn't even really know those guys, I met them on the road and they took me in," he said quickly, hoping that the beating would stop.

"How many in your group?" Daryl asked, already bored with this little interrogation.

"I... I don't know," Randall said worried, as he seen Daryl taking out his knife. "Oh shit... no, no, please!" he said as he backed up against the wall. "THIRTY! Around thirty or so."

"Where?" Daryl asked, pressing the knife a little harder against his wound.

"I don't know! I swear! Never in one place any longer than a night," Randall honestly didn't know where they were now. They had left him on that fence and moved on, without a second thought for him. "They left me! I'm trying to co-operate!" Daryl wasn't buying it and hit him again, as hard as he could in the jaw, causing Randall to spit out a tooth that had broken. "OK! Come on, man! They have weapons. Heavy stuff, automatics. But I didn't do anything!"

Daryl was back in Randall's face. "Yer boys shot at my boys! Tried to take this farm! Ya just went along for the ride, tryin to tell me you're innocent?" Daryl's spit hit Randall's face again.

Randall nodded frantically. "They took me in, looked after me, I thought it was a good thing, I thought I had it alright with them, you know? Cept one night we found this little camp site, there was a man and his two daughters. Teenagers, real cute." Daryl turned slowly towards Randall not liking his tone of voice, or where he was going with the story. "They made the daddy watch while they... y'know, with his daughters. And they didn't even kill him afterwards, just tied him up and left him there. I had no part in it though, I swear. I didn't do nothin' to those girls!"

Randall could see he was in trouble.

"But I didn't touch those girls! I swear!"

Daryl put everything he had then into beating Randall. He wouldn't let anything like that happen to Eve. Carol. Sophia. Anyone else. He was hurting his knuckles, and his side, but he didn't care. Just wanted to teach him a lesson.

"You gotta believe me," Randall cried in between punches. "I'm not like that. Please, you gotta believe me!"

When he finally thought Randall had gotten enough, Daryl made his way out of the barn and towards the camp.

Rick looked up at him when he approached. "Did you manage to get any information out of him then?" he asked.

Daryl nodded. "Got a gang of about thirty men, heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends," He told them as he picked up another rag and wiped at his bloody knuckles. "They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women are gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol asked looking at his hands, his knuckles looked pretty sore.

"We had a little chat." He said flatly.

"No one goes near this guy." Rick said seriously.

"Shane, what are you going to do?" Lori asked her husband anger in her voice.

"We have no choice, he's a threat... we have to eliminate the threat -"

"You're just going to kill him?" Dale asked appalled.

"It's settled." Rick said. "We'll do it today." He then walked away.

Dale watched him go; looking shocked before he looked at the rest of the group. "He wasn't being serious, right? We can't just kill him. He's only a kid, and we still don't know anything about him."

"He's part of a gang that raped two teenage girls and they made the dad watch." Daryl told him as he went into the house to check on Eve.

* * *

He found her lying on the bed looking freshly dressed and her hair was damp, she was looking blankly ahead when she spoke.

"We're all going to die eventually, it's pointless."

Beth gave him a sad look. "She's been like that most of the morning. She doesn't make conversation, just... talks about death," she said with a sigh.

Daryl sat down next to her. "Evie? It's me," he said as he stroked her arm gently, while she looked at him with empty eyes.

"I don't want to be here anymore Daryl, I want to go, I don't want to see anymore people I love die by walkers or people. I just want to go." She said as tears slid down her face.

"What about me, Merle, Beth, Maggie, Rowan, Sophia, Carol, Hershel and Midnight?" He asked her quietly, he was hurt that she felt she had no reason to live.

"You're all going to die and I don't want to see it." She said numbly.

Daryl needed to give her the reason to live. He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes. "But I love ya," he said quietly, as Beth and Carol both smiled sadly. "Yer more than just my best friend Evie, I need ya."

"No you don't," she said with no emotion. Daryl had the chance to tell her that yesterday. Now he probably just felt pity for her after she tried to kill herself. "You all just feel sorry for me," she said as she pulled the covers back over her head. "Leave me alone."

Beth sighed. "I'll go and make her something to eat."

Daryl nodded in thanks and sighed heavily as he looked at Carol who had tears in her eyes and he swallowed slightly.

"What am I gonna do Carol?" He asked thickly as he stroked Eve's hand and felt her sob under the covers and sighed.

"Go wash up and I'll help Beth cook something to eat." She told him softly.

* * *

Daryl nodded as he left to take a shower, while Carol went into the kitchen. "Hey Rowan, how are you?" she asked Rowan softly, who was sitting at the table, with a little more colour in her face than she had the day before.

"I'm alright, I'm getting there." Rowan said softly and Carol nodded in understanding as Maggie came in looking sad.

"How's Evie?"

"She's awake," Carol assured her, as she and Beth cooked some of the meat that had been left over. "We're going to get her to try and eat something."

Maggie smiled at that, "I'm glad." She said as Carol and Beth carried up a tray of food to Eve's room and they saw that she was up and looked up when they came in.

"Why don't we go for a walk, get some fresh air?" Beth suggested and Eve nodded.

"Sounds good." She said softly and watched them go as she looked at the knife on the tray.

She picked up the knife and curled up back under the blankets again, holding onto the knife tightly.

* * *

Carol came up to check on Eve and sighed sadly when she saw that she hadn't touched any of the food aside from the cucumber.

"Hardly ate a thing, you're gonna get sick-" She said softly and then saw Eve crying silently, her shoulders shaking.

"Sweetie, it's going to be OK," she said softly, as she looked at her. "You have a family here who want to help you get better," she said as she picked up the tray. "Now I'll be right back in a second and we'll take that walk," she said as she went to wash up. "Where are Rick and Shane?" she asked, noticing the two men weren't around.

"Dale convinced them to give Randall a chance, so they took him out to dump him somewhere," Maggie explained.

Carol nodded as she started to wash the dishes when she noticed Eve's knife was missing. She rushed back into the room. "Eve, give it to me, sweetie. You don't want to do this..."

Eve wordlessly gave her the knife and Carol took it as she realised that Eve badly needed Daryl and hurried off to find him.

"Andrea have you seen Daryl?!" She called out to her as she sat on the roof of the RV with a rifle in her hands.

"He was fixing up the fence with T-Dog."

Carol nodded. "Will you go in and keep an eye on Eve for me?" she asked, as she ran over to the other end of the farm where she seen the two men in the distance.

"Of course." Andrea said and she quickly hurried into the house as Dale watched on.

* * *

She found Eve staring blankly at the wall, and sat down silently on a chair. "Go on," Eve mumbled as she looked at her. "Don't you have something to say to me like the rest of them? Did they send you to try and talk me out of this too?"

"No, I'm not here to talk sense into you but if you really want to die, I won't stop you." Andrea said as she opened the bathroom door and left as Eve looked on and then went inside.

She picked up a piece of glass and looked at it as she thought of her family and friends as she prepared to cut her wrists.

Daryl, he said he loved her and Eve sensed that he was being honest. There wasn't any pity in his voice and she sobbed.

He loved her.

"Oh god."

She heard a knock on the bathroom door and froze as she dropped the glass. Before she had a chance to move, she heard a bang, and saw Daryl had kicked down the door. She looked at him and Carol.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out.

"Don't worry about that, let me see ya wrists." He said just relived that she was alright as he helped her out of the room and into the bedroom where she sobbed into him.

"I'm so sorry." She said thickly.

"Don't worry about that, I love ya and we're gonna help ya through this." He said kissing her forehead and she smiled softly.

"I love you too."

* * *

Rowan looked up as she heard a car approaching, and seen a very bloody looking Rick and Shane step out. "What happened?" she asked confused as she seen Shane go into the boot and pull out Randall. "Weren't you supposed to be getting rid of him?"

"We couldn't do it," Rick said as he tied Randall's hands back together. "He knew Maggie. We need to leave him in the barn and deal with him tonight."

"What happened to your face?" she asked as she got up and walked with him.

"Shane and I had a... disagreement of sorts," he said quietly.

"About what?" She asked as she helped him into the tent and they sat down on the bed as she started to tend to his cut face.

"How I'm to blame for what happened at the quarry, the CDC and the barn and Rose." He said pained and she took his hand tightly.

"You, Daryl, Eve, Merle, Carol and everyone aside from Lori and Shane tried to find my little girl. I know you did and I don't blame you." She said honestly.

Rick nodded and smiled softly. "What we did last night... you don't regret it, do you?" he asked unsure of himself.

Rowan shook her head. "No, I don't," she said honestly.

"Good, because I don't." He said softly, he kissed her softly and she felt her face turn warm as the kiss got deeper.

* * *

Daryl, Merle, Eve, Carol, Maggie, Beth, T-Dog and Glenn were all in the sitting room when Dale came in looking tired. "I wanted to talk to you all about what's happening with Randall tonight," he said quietly.

"Who's Randall?" Eve asked,

"He was one of the men who shot at us and we had to shoot back, he fell and got left behind when one of his friends drove off and left him on spiked fence." Glenn explained and Eve nodded in understanding.

"After what we've just found out, no Dale, I won't ask for him to live." Carol said firmly.

"But he's just a kid!" Dale protested as he looked for someone who would agree with him.

"Maybe he's right," Maggie said quietly. "I went to school with him and he didn't seem so bad. Found him in my yearbook, he had a pretty good report written about him."

"His gang raped two teenagers," Daryl said disgusted. "Excuse me for not throwin' a welcome party for him."

"I ain't lettin' him anywhere near Eve or Beth." Daryl said coldly and Eve took his hand gently in hers to calm him down as the others looked on.

"What about you Merle?" Dale asked the older Dixon.

"I'm with Daryl, he's a threat to the group and I ain't risking my family to that bastard." Merle said calmly and Dale looked at Beth.

"Beth?"

Beth shook her head. "I don't want him around," she said quietly as she looked at Maggie and gave her an apologetic smile.

Glenn and T-Dog both voiced their agreement. "I think it's better if he's gone, more trouble is the last thing we need," T-Dog added.

"What about you, Daryl?" Dale asked the younger the Dixon.

"The answer's no, I got Eve to think about and I ain't lettin' that sick fuck around her." He said pulling Eve into him tightly.

"There has to be another way!" Dale said pleadingly.

Carol shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dale, Rick has already decided on this one, and we're all going to agree with him this time," she said with a shrug. "It's everyone for themselves now; we can't be letting threats in the group."

Merle nodded. "It gets dealt with tonight."

"Shane's different." Dale said as they all looked at him

"Ya mean ever since he killed that Otis guy?" Daryl asked uninterested.

Dale looked shocked. "You know about that?"

"Ain't hard to figure out," Daryl shrugged as he picked up his crossbow.

"Like I said, the group's broken. Shane, Lori and Andrea did a good job with that." He said calmly as he held Eve's hand.

"Not to mention Travis," Merle added and they all nodded in agreement.

Dale sighed and shook his head as he left the room.

"He won't listen." Eve said sadly and Daryl nodded in agreement as Midnight sat at their feet as they saw Rick come in.

"We're ready to deal with Randall." He said and Daryl nodded as he kissed Eve gently on the mouth and followed Rick outside along with Merle.

* * *

The three men made sure Randall was tied up securely and placed him in the center of the barn and formed a sort of circle around him, making sure there was no way that he could escape, as they all took out their guns and aimed them at him.

Randall looked terrified and started to cry as he realized that he was going to die. "Please don't do this, I can help your group, I'm a good man... please!" he begged.

Any last words, Randall?" Merle asked calmly.

"PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Randall sobbed.

"You ain't killed him yet?" Shane mumbled as he walked towards the men and joined them, raising his gun.

"Any last words?" Daryl asked, as they heard another person at the door of the barn.

And then right before the trigger was pulled Carl stumbled into the barn to encourage his father – "Do it, Dad, do it."

For cryin' out loud, couldn't someone keep a leash on that kid, Daryl thought. And sure enough, Rick crumbled and backed down. "Take him back," he'd ordered. Shane had stormed off muttering a stream of curse words and Daryl roughly guided Randall back to the shed.

"Yer fuckin' lucky this time," Daryl muttered as he began to chain Randall back up, using only a flashlight to see what he was doing in the dark. Suddenly, a yell rang through the air. Daryl finished what he was doing quickly, and closed the shed door, breaking into a run to get to the noise.

He found two bodies, one belonged to a walker, and one was Dale struggling underneath. He pushed the walker off and noticed the large wound, if you could even call it that or more like tear where Dale had been practically ripped in two. "OVER HERE!" he called out, as he seen flashlights in the distance, and the others ran towards them after hearing all the commotion.

"Who is it?!" Eve yelled as they all reached him and froze at seeing Dale lying on the ground with his stomach ripped wide open.

"HERSHEL WE NEED HERSHEL!" Rick yelled.

Hershel appeared then and looked down at Dale, there was no way he could have been saved, his intestines were more or less hanging out of his body and half his insides were gone. Even if he hadn't been bitten, there was no way he could be stitched up properly. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do," he said sadly as he turned away.

"Someone do something," Andrea said quietly. "Look at him, he's suffering! He's in pain."

Rick sighed and took out his gun, his eyes burning as he aimed at Dale.

Daryl took the gun away from him and looked at Dale who was gasping for breath.

"Sorry brother." He said thickly and pulled the trigger as Eve pulled him into her and kissed his cheek.

"You're a good man." She assured him as she saw a lone tear down his face.

She thumbed the tear away and took his rough hand in hers as they went back inside, with Merle and T-Dog taking the body to prepare for a burial in the morning,

"Why don't ya'll move in here?" Hershel suggested.

"Really?" Rick asked, not wanting to invade Hershel's space. "That would be nice, but do you have enough room?"

"Rowan and Evie can move in with Maggie and Beth, and Carol, Sophia and Andrea can stay with Patricia. There's room in the sitting room for the men, and you and Lori can have the guestroom," he said, offering it to the married couple.

Rick shook his head. "Don't worry; I'll be fine on the sofa. Lori and I won't be sharing a room anymore."

Hershel nodded as everyone went to go to bed for the night with Eve resting her forehead against Daryl's as they unpacked their tent and belongings.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, she touched his face gently.

"I'm alright, just glad that I have ya with me." He said kissing her.

"I love you." She said soft  
"You too," he said with a small smile as he packed up his clothes into a rucksack, and they took the tent down, before heading inside, where Daryl dumped his stuff down next to Merle's.

"So are you and Eve alright now?" Merle asked quietly to him.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, I think so," he said hopefully.

Merle looked at him for a moment. "Then why the hell are ya down here with me when she's upstairs? Go on, ya heard Rick say he didn't want the spare room."

Daryl shook his head, "Yeah, I know, but Hershel's not gonna like that."

Merle sighed. "I wasn't sayin' ya gotta do... that... But ya can't tell her ya love her an' then abandon her. Talk to Hershel... we could be here for months, and yer gonna sleep next to me the whole time?"

"I'll talk to him, alright." Daryl said as they saw Hershel come in and look at them both before he walked to where Daryl was.

"You can share the room with Eve but if you hurt her in anyway, I will kill you in every biblical sense alright?" He asked and Daryl nodded.

"I promise she's everythin' to me." He assured him and he headed upstairs to where Eve was.

"About damn time."

Merle sat laughing as he rolled out his sleeping bag on the sitting room floor. "Yeah, yer tellin' me, Hersh."

"Well at least they're happy." Hershel said with a smile.

* * *

Daryl knocked on the girls' room door, unsure why he was feeling so shy, it wasn't like he hadn't known Eve long enough. Eve opened the door and gave him a confused smile. "Uh... ya wanna share a room?" he asked, pointing at the guest bedroom. "Hershel don't mind, I didn't wanna leave ya again."

Eve smiled at him then and got all of her things and said good bye to the girls as they headed into the room Hershel had given them.

"How are ya wrists?" Daryl asked softly.

"Alright, they're sore but I feel so ashamed." She said quietly.

They sat down on the bed and Daryl lifted her arms, kissing her wrists tenderly. "Ya ain't gotta be. It was my fault, I was an ass. I froze and I couldn't tell ya how I felt when ya needed me to," he said as he pushed her hair out of her eyes. "From now on I'll make sure ya know how much ya mean to me," he said as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"You mean everything to me, Daryl." She said softly and simply rested her head into the crook of his neck when they heard voices in the next room.

It was Shane, Travis and Lori.

"What are they doing?" Eve asked frowning as she tried to make out what they were saying. "I hope to god they aren't doing what I think, or that's just downright disgusting."

Sure enough they could soft moans coming from the next room and Eve felt disgust run through her as she heard Lori moan.

"Whore." She said disgusted as she leaned into Daryl.

"Yeah, ya ain't fuckin' jokin'," Daryl mumbled as he pulled her into him and they got under the sheets, pulling them over their head to try and stop the noises coming from the next room.

She rested her face against the steady beat of his heart beat and smiled softly at him as he kissed her softly on the lips.

"Make love to me?"

Daryl nodded and slipped his tongue into her mouth, kissing her slowly and tenderly as he took off her tank top, and ran his hands up her smooth skin. She wrapped her hands around his back, holding him tightly to her, as his mouth trailed down her neck.

She pushed off his sweatpants and took off her own, before reaching into her bag for a condom, and sliding it onto him. He smiled down at her and stroked her cheek as he slid into her, and they moved slowly together. There wasn't anything rough or hard about it this time, it was tender and loving as they both gazed into each others eyes, their soft moans filling the room.

They touched every part of each other they could reach, as they found their release together, and held each other tightly in an embrace.

"I love ya, Eve." He said kissing her lovingly on the mouth as he held her to him tightly, her long blonde locks looking gold in the moonlight.

"I love you too, Daryl." She said holding his hand tightly.

"It's not fair that Lori gets to have a baby." She said quietly.

"Ya want a baby?" Daryl asked confused as he threw the condom away and pulled his sweatpants back on, pulling her against his chest.

"Well, no, but Lori doesn't do anything around here, she isn't even with her husband, she's going to expect us to run around after her and she probably won't even care about that baby," she pointed out.

"I know and I feel bad for Rick, he must know that baby ain't his." He said holding her tightly and she smiled sadly as she rubbed her stomach.

She would have liked having children with Daryl, boys who looked like him and little girls with her hair and his eyes.

That could never happen but she could pray it would and hope.

"I love you."

"I love ya too," he said softly as he pulled the blankets up around them and buried his face into the back of her neck. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."


	10. The Ugly Truth

Summary: Eve Chelle Greene is Daryl Dixon's best friend, drinking friend, protector and lover. Daryl Dixon has been best friends with Eva since they were teenagers, lovers, drinking friends and her protector. When the world goes to hell it's a home for the brave and you have to face something that you thought belonged in a horror film. Daryl/OC, Merle/Beth, Rick/OC. Co-Written with NadWri

Warning: Major Lori bashing.

Warning: This story mentions rape, physical abuse, self - harming and drug abuse and upsetting scenes.

Home Of The Brave

Chapter 10

* * *

The next morning Dale was being buried under a willow tree next to Rose, Annette and Shawn and the others as they gathered around his grave.

Daryl had his arms wrapped around Eve while Sophia held Carol's hand, Merle and Beth stood beside them with Rowan near them.

Rick stood at the head of the grave, across from the others. He looked tired, and defeated as he sighed as Shane and T-Dog let go of the body and turned to join the rest of the group. Everyone then looked to him, waiting for him to say something.

Rick smirked, "Dale could get under your skin." He said bluntly, "He sure got under mine. But that's because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, or how he felt. I think that kind of honesty is rare, and brave." Rick looked up from the ground to look around at the faces of his followers. Many of them had smiles on their faces remembering Dale as he was. Rick continued, "When ever I would make a decision I would look at Dale, and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had – we've all seen it one time or another."

"Before he died, Dale said this group was broken," he added quieter. "So I think we owe it for him to try and pull this group back together. It's what he would have wanted."

Eve reached her far hand up and grabbed hold of the hand Daryl had draped around her shoulder. She squeezed it for reassurance as a few tears fell from her eyes. Everyone was silent, and for a while they all stood staring at Dale's grave, saying their individual good-byes. After a while people started to drift back up to camp, leaving Dale to rest under an old tree by the barn.

"Alright, what's the plan for today then, Rick?" Glenn asked as they went back to the farmhouse.

"We're going to pull ourselves together," Rick told him. "Starting with taking out those walkers who were roaming around, it's not safe. Look what happened to Dale because we weren't careful."

They all nodded as it was decided that they would split up into groups and take out any walkers that were near the fence.

Eve went with Daryl as they took out four walkers eating on the remains of a cow as they took the walkers with silent weapons.

Rowan watched them take off the heads of the walkers and felt her stomach churn, normally it didn't bother her, but for some reason, the smell and the sight was upsetting her stomach, and making her feel real sick.

She ran off to be sick in a bush and wiped her mouth with the back of er hand as they all headed back to the house where they were setting things up.

The cars were all in a circle around the house and they were now making a list of how many supplies they had.

"How are we doing on ammo?" Daryl asked Rick.

"We have enough that should last us for a few month, we just don't need to be using it if we don't need it," he said as he finished checking through their guns.

"Are you alright?" Carol asked Rowan who was looking pale as they checked through the cupboards together.

"Yeah I'm fine, just feeling a bit sick." She said splashing her face with some water as they all checked the fences when they saw Daryl come over.

"I'm goin' with Rick to drop off Randall somewhere." He explained as he pulled her into him and she nodded and kissed him gently.

"Alright be safe."

The men went over to the barn to get Randall, opening the door to find that the barn was empty. "Where the hell has he gone?" Rick asked as he looked around, there was nothing but chains attached to the wall.

"He can't have cut himself out of them for cryin' out loud." Daryl said as they all looked around the shed.

* * *

Eve, Rowan and Beth were on the porch when they heard Daryl and T-Dog yelling in anger.

"Where the hell is he?" Daryl asked furious.

"He isn't there." T-Dog said stunned.

"What?" Merle asked confused

"He just isn't there." T-Dog said confused.

They ran to the shed and looked through it. Rowan, Eve, and Beth had ran out after they had heard angry yelling from outside. They saw the men and Maggie had run to the shed. "What's going on?" Rowan asked.

"Randall's missing." Glenn said as he tried to keep them in the house.

"What do you mean Randall is missing?" Beth asked. "How is that possible? Wasn't he tied up in the barn?"

"Yeah, but he's managed to break free somehow," Daryl said angrily.

"Where could he be?" Rowan asked.

"The door was secure from the outside." Hershel said. Eve looked around at the ground and she frowned.

"Daryl..." She said quietly.

"What?"

"Look..." She said as she pointed to the ground.

They all looked up when they heard Shane yelling out. "RICK! RICK!"

"What happened?" Lori yelled out.

"He's armed! He's got my gun!" He yelled back. He looked beat up.

"We need to go after him!" Rick said as they all headed towards the forest. "We'll split up and go different ways."

"Just let him go, that was the plan, wasn't it?" Patricia asked. "Just let him go?"

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here... not on our front step with a gun." Rick said furiously.

"Don't go out there; you all don't know what can happen!" Lori called out.

"Get everybody back into the house." Rick said. "Lock all the doors, and stay put!"

"Daryl be careful." Eve said hugging Daryl, he nodded and he and the others hurried into the woods along while they hurried back to the house.

* * *

Merle and Daryl searched the woods for Randall when they saw footprints on top of each other, looking like two sets of footprints, with a tree nearby stained in blood.

"Look's like they had trouble." Merle said as they heard a twig snap and hid behind some trees as they saw a figure coming over.

Daryl and Merle ducked behind two of the trees to see who it was, panicking incase they were in danger. They realized it was Randall and came out of their covering, before discovering he was a walker. "Shit," Daryl whispered, putting an arrow through his head.

Merle pulled up his shirt and checked his body, to see if he could discover where he was bitten, "He ain't got any bites or scratches." He told his brother.

"How is that possible?" Daryl asked as they went back to the house. "And how did he get away?"

"I don't know... Ya don't think Shane used Randall to lure Rick away in private, do ya?" Merle asked worriedly.

"Oh fuck I hope not." He said as they heard a loud gunshot and hurried back to the house where the others were.

Eve sat in the living room with the others while Sophia was upstairs along with Carl when a loud gunshot rang out.

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Jimmy said from where he stood next to Beth.

At that moment Daryl and Glenn came back.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked concerned after he embraced Eve.

"No." Rowan said worried.

"We heard a shot." Glenn said.

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori offered.

"We found him." Merle said quietly.

"Is he back in the shed?" Andrea asked annoyed.

"He's a walker." Daryl said quickly.

"Did you find the Walker that bit him?" Hershel asked quietly.

Daryl shook his head. "There was no walkers." he said, not able to understand it himself. "He weren't bit or scratched or nothing like that."

"Then how did he turn?" Glenn asked.

Merle shrugged slightly as he sat down and picked up an apple. "Ain't got a clue."

"That's just weird." Eve said worried as she stroked Midnight's fur and they all sat down quietly when they decided to go look for Rick.

At that minute another gun shot was heard.

"What the hell was that?" Merle asked getting up from where he sat next to Beth.

"Stay here," Daryl said to Eve softly. "Stay inside the house."

Eve nodded as Daryl and Merle ran outside.

They didn't make it very far however, before they noticed two people walk towards them in the distance. "Is that..."

"Oh fuck me, that's a fuckin herd!" Merle yelled seeing the walkers behind the two walkers in front.

Daryl grabbed Merle, "C'mon we gotta tell the others."

"What's wrong?" Rowan asked, noticing their worried faces as they came back into the house.

"There's a herd coming right towards us!" Daryl said as he hurried to put their supplies in a box. "Go pack your stuff! We're getting the hell out of here now."

Everyone ran off to pack their stuff with Eve packing up all of the medical supplies they had and Beth helped her out while Maggie went to help Carol pack.

"We're gonna look again, we're gonna find him." Carol said comfortingly.

We're going to find who?" Rowan asked.

"Carl. He's not in the house anywhere," Lori said worriedly.

Rowan didn't like Lori, but she did like Carl, and it wasn't good if he was out there alone somewhere. "Alright, let's check upstairs again."

They ran upstairs and looked in all the rooms but Carl wasn't there. Rowan ran down the stairs as she looked for Sophia. "Hey, have you seen Carl?" She asked gently.

Sophia looked worried "He said he was going look for his dad, something about not trusting Shane." She told her looking scared.

"I'm sure he'll be fine if he's with his father and Shane," Eve said softly as she took out her gun and rubbed Rowan's arm gently.

"Come on, we need to go and fight for this farm," Hershel said as he took out a rifle. "I'm not losing it to these things."

Daryl shrugged as he jumped the porch rail. "Guess tonight's as good a night to die as any," he said as they all started to fire at the walkers, while the women packed up their stuff and put it in the cars.

"Do you think Carl's OK?" Sophia asked worriedly.

"I'm sure he is, honey." She assured her as they could hear shooting outside and Eve looked out quickly to see a group of men driving in six black SUV'S towards the farm.

"Shit, we have to go NOW!" Eve yelled as she grabbed Midnight and as they carried their stuff.

Eve shoved everything that she was carrying into the back of one of their vehicles, and climbed inside, along with Carol, Sophia, who was clutching Midnight, Beth and Rowan.

"We're getting out of here," she said as she pulled away from the farm and away from the men in the SUV's.

"Who the hell are they?" Rowan asked as she stroked Midnight's fur to calm him down.

"I have no idea," Eve said as she kept her hands on the wheel. "Where are we supposed to go? Should be go back to get the others?"

"We have to go now, honey," Carol said as she looked around. "And hope they make it out. If we stay any longer, we're dead,"

She nodded. "I hope Daryl, Merle, Maggie, Hershel, T-Dog, Rick and Carl are ok." She said as she drove down to the highway.

* * *

Rick and Carl drove to the highway with Hershel, who was upset over the loss of their farm. In the blur of the herd, and the men in the SUV's, which Rick had no idea who they were or where they had come from, he had seen most of the others escape. Poor Jimmy had perished in the RV after the barn fire, but he hadn't seen anyone else go down. They parked up and looked around; it seemed to be empty for now, apart from the three of them.

They were only driving a few minutes when Rick noticed Shane's green car driving in front of them. He smiled and pointed at it, hoping Carl and Hershel would notice it too. He nodded and then pointed farther up a head of that, at the blue pick-up truck of Otis' parked near the crashed car. Driving along with it was Daryl on his bike.

"It's them, pull over." Eve said happily and Carol pulled over as Daryl skidded to a halt in front of her and as soon as she got out, he pulled them her into him and held them tightly.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Daryl." Eve said tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Fuck, Eve," Daryl breathed, relief washing over him as he leaned down to kiss her hard, his tongue battling with her own. He was no longer interested in who'd seen; only that she was alright. "I couldn't find any of ya on the farm, thought I'd lost ya..."

"Hey, I'm here, I'm OK," she said softly as she rested her forehead against his before she buried her face into his chest, as they seen Rick hug Rowan in the distance. "Where's Merle?" she asked, looking around for her 'sort-of' brother.

"Right here lili sis." Merle said as Beth flung herself into him and he hugged her tightly to him as everyone came to grips with what had just happened.

"Where's Shane?" Lori asked quickly.

"Dead, he tried to kill dad so dad killed him and then he came back and I shot him." Carl said calmly before Lori slapped him.

"YOU SICK BASTARD!" She screamed.

"Get the hell away from him!" Eve snapped at her, as she stormed towards Lori and shoved her roughly away from Carl, so roughly that she fell on her ass. "Shane was an evil man, and he was going to kill your husband. You should be grateful for what your son did, you selfish bitch!" she growled, pointing her finger accusingly at Lori who was on the ground. "Oh, and don't worry about losing your fuck buddy, because I'm sure Rowan's HUSBAND will be more than happy to sleep with you, whore!"

Lori got up then and charged at Eve only to be slapped by Beth who stood beside Eve and glared at her when Rick spoke again.

"There's something else as well." He said sighing and bracing for everyone's reactions.

"We're all infected." He said quickly.

"What do you mean we're all infected?" Glenn asked in disbelief.

"He means we're all going to turn into one of those things," Maggie said angrily. "No matter how we die, just like Randall. Don't you?"

"Yes, I didn't think it was true until Randall." Rick said and everyone took this in silence when Carol spoke softly but firmly.

"You did the right thing; it would have caused panic if it wasn't true." She assured him.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" Glenn yelled.

"Shut up!" Beth snapped at Glenn as Maggie went to stand next to him. "Rick has been looking out for us; we have no right to be angry at him. He was doing what he thought was best for us!"

"Yeah so shut the hell up." Daryl said as they all got into the cars and Eve got on the bike behind Daryl as they followed after Rick.

"He's a good man." Daryl said as they drove.

Eve nodded as they drove down the old highway, looking out for somewhere they could stay for the night that looked secure and relatively free from walkers.

* * *

Nobody paid much attention to the scenery passing them by, all they knew was they needed to put as many miles away from them and the herd as they possibly could. The temperature was dropping along with the sun when they heard Rick honk the horn alerting them that he needed them to stop.

Daryl slowed down to a stop before looking over his shoulder. When everyone started to get out of the cars he cut his engine. "You out?" he asked.

"Running on fumes." Rick said tired.

"Well we can't stay here." Maggie said annoyed.

"And we can't all fit in one car." Glenn added loudly.

"We'll have to make run for some gas in the morning." Rick said looking around.

"What are we supposed to do for now then?" Beth asked as she looked around, they were pretty exposed in the middle of the road.

"We could find somewhere to park up for the night, sleep in our vehicles," Rick suggested. "It's all we got, and before you start giving me hell for that too, unless anyone has a better idea, then it's settled."

"But what if the herd are on the road?" Lori said shocked.

Something snapped in Rick.

"What would you have me do, Lori?!" Rick snapped at her. "I am trying my best to protect you lot, but I JUST CAN'T WITH YOU GOING ON, ALL THE TIME! GODDAMN, I JUST KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"

They all stared at him, shocked at Rick's outburst at Lori.

"Damn, I think the bitch has made him snap." Merle said to Beth.

"Do something!" Lori pleaded with him.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?!" Rick snapped at her as he ran a hand over his face tiredly, Rowan gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'm trying for you people, but no one seems to appreciate it. If you don't like it, feel free to leave! But if you stay here, then let me tell you... this isn't a democracy anymore."

"I am doing something!" Rick exploded. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what." He dropped his voice to a low hiss. "I didn't ask for this! I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake! You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me."

He paused and looked from face to face. "My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe… maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe… maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you… Why don't you go and find out yourself? Go on, there's the door." He gestured toward the oppressive pitch black in the distance. "Send me a postcard."

Everyone exchanged uncomfortable glances but no one spoke.

"No takers? Fine. But let's get one thing straight. This is no longer a democracy."

Rick glared at the group, daring anyone to challenge him. Daryl finally spoke. "I'll relieve T-Dog."

"I got it covered," Rick waved him off and went to switch places with the man who outweighed him by at least half, but who still stepped aside and gave their leader plenty of room as he passed.

"Everyone should try to get some sleep," Daryl announced. "Dawn will come sooner than we think."


End file.
